
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMEEICA. 






No. 4.] 


JUDGE’S NOVELS, 


[Price, 25 Cts. 


PubUsLed Quarterly. Novhmb.. .88,, | 

Entered at the Post Office at New York as second-class matter. 



NEW YORK 

THE JUDGE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

Judge Building, cor. Eifth Avenue and i6tii Street 

1889 




Winning, Wayward 
■ Woman 

CHAPTERS m THE HEART -HISTORY 

OF 

AMELIE WAEDEN 

By y 

FLOKA ADAMS DAELIISTG, A.M. 

Author of “Mrs. Darling’s Letters; or, Memories of the War “A Social 
Diplomat,” etc. 



THE JUDGE PUBLISHING CO. 
luDGE Building, cor. Fifth Ave. and 16th Street 
1889 


Copyrighted, .889, by 
THE JUDGE PUBLISHING COMPANY. 


William Green 

Printer, Electrotyper and Binder 
334-328 Pearl Street 


NEW YORK 



To 

Son, 

EDWAKD IKYING DAKLING, 

WITH HOLIEST, TENDEREST LOVE, I DEDICATE THIS LITTLE VOLUME TO 
THE IDEAL AND IDOL OF MY LIFE AND LOVE, 

FOR IN YOU I HAVE FOUND 

THE NOBLE QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTIC ENDOWMENTS OF 

YOUR FATHER, 

WHO COMMANDED MY ABSOLUTE FAITH AND UNCHANGEABLE LOVE, AND 
WHOSE MEMORY FOR A QUARTER OF A CENTURY HAS BEEN 
THE SHRINE OF MY DEVOTION, 

AND IS ONLY SECOND TO THE MOST CHERISHED INHERITANCE OF HIS LIFE 

AND LOVE, “our BOY.’’ 

YOUR MOTHER, 


Flora Adams Darling 



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,'' 7 ^ 


PEEFAOE. 


I HAVE woven a web of fatality, using the warp of 
romance and the woof of reality, tinted by error, col- 
ored by sin, and giving the lights and shades of com- 
plex character to show the strength of love and power 
of endurance of a large-hearted, loving, willful woman, 
who missed her life’s purpose under the dominion of 
passionate love. The heroine is contradictory in char- 
acter and action, but she is not exceptional, for there 
are many Amelies in this world of ours, only known 
when the veil is withdrawn. Whether it is wise to 
withdraw the veil is an open question, to be decided 
from an ethical point of view; but most students 
of human nature believe in the theory and adopt the 
practice of writing with the pen of truth and realistic 
ink when intending to convey a moral. 

It is claimed that only a woman can dissect the 
heart and analyze the motives of a woman ; and as a 


vi 


PREFACE. 


proof of the maxim, at the solicitation of several 
friends, I have made my first attempt to delineate the 
emotions of the human heart under complex condi- 
tions; and while the romance is open to criticism, 
all students of heart-history will, I think, admit that it 
is true to life. It may he well to add that this romance 
is based on the life experience of one who sleeps in 
Greenwood, unconscious that her life’s mistake lives 
after her, and who cannot dream it has been a pleas- 
ure for me to gild the memory of a woman ‘‘who 
loved not wisely but too well.” 


THE AUTHOR. 


A WINNING, WAYWAED WOMAN. 


Chapter I. 

Mrs. Dunbar was returning to her home on Fifth 
avenue from Ash-Wednesday service, and with char- 
acteristic ardor forming Lenten resolutions to aid 
the poor during the season of good works, when a 
woman of genteel appearance who was approaching 
her, fell with a heavy thud upon the sidewalk. 

‘‘ I believe she is dead !” Mrs. Dunbar exclaimed 
in alarm, as she bent over the prostrate woman. 

What shall I do 

“We had better look for her name and address,” 
said a lady who had joined Mrs. Dunbar. “ She 
may have* a home.” 

“ She looks friendless and homeless, but she be- 
longs to some one,” Mrs. Dunbar said, tenderly. 

At that moment a gentleman who was passing 
in his carriage ordered his coachman to stop. Quickly 
alighting, he joined the ladies, and in a moment ascer- 
tained that the stricken woman had only fainted. 


8 


A WAYWARD WOMAN, 


“ She is not dead ; we had better take her to St. 
Luke’s, where she will be properly cared for,” he 
said, as he motioned his coachman to assist him to 
lift her into the carriage. 

Mrs. Dunbar suggested that they look in her 
purse and if possible discover her address, for it 
might be best to take her home. , 

The search revealed the sad truth — five pawn 
tickets; no money; the name of Amelie Warden; 
no address. 

“ I will take her home and make her my Lenten 
charity,” Mb-s. Dunbar said, earnestly. “I cannot 
have a better mission.” 

“ But you ought not to undertake this self-im- 
posed penance, even for sweet charity’s sake,” the 
gentleman replied. 

“We must take care of her. She is a lady ; not 
an ordinary object of charity, but a refined woman 
bound by the chains of poverty. It is evident that 
blue blood is in her veins, although she is paralyzed 
by want and made pale through sorrow,” Mrs. Dun- 
bar said, earnestly. 

“ I admit all you say ; but what if she should die 
at your house ?” 

“ She would go into Eternity from a nice place. 
I fancy she is accustomed to all the details and acces- 
sories of refined life, and will be glad to renew their 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


9 


acquaintance, and, if she must die, go to heaven like 
a ladj,” she said, with a smile. “ I do not fancy I 
will repent the act, for my first impulses are almost 
always correct, and my inspiration tells me to take 
her home.” 

“ Your impulse is good, your inspiration sweet ; but 
wisdom should be invoked in matters of this nature. 
I suggest we provide for her at the hospital.” 

“ I presume you are right, but it will give me 
pleasure to make this poor woman my special mis- 
sion.” 

“ Though your impulse does your heart credit, and 
your logic is interesting, it may prove a charitable 
blunder that will refiect upon your head. Still, you 
must act your own pleasure.” 

Soon after, the gentleman’s servants carried the 
stricken woman to a pretty room in Mrs. Dunbar’s 
charming home, which proved a haven of rest to 
the tempest-tossed mariner, for in that refuge she 
could furl sail and anchor in quiet waters. She felt 
that an angel stood at the helm ; her soul rested ; she 
was content.. 

Can I do anything more to serve you ?” the gen- 
tleman asked. 

“ Yes ; please call and ask Dr. Sewell to come here 
without delay.” 

“ Is he your physician ?” he asked, with interest. 


10 


A wmNma, watwahj) womajv. 


“ He is mj uncle.” 

“I will send him at once, and give mjself the 
pleasure of calling to-morrow morning to inquire for 
your Lenten Folly,” he said, with a smile. “ I fancy 
the doctor will not feel especial enthusiasm over your 
mission.” 

“ Perhaps not ; but he knows that if I err in social 
judgment, my intentions are good, and he never con- 
demns my impulses. As he is aware, I have an annual 
attack of impulsive charity, attended with religious 
fervor, that develops during Lent ; so this will not 
surprise him.” 

“ He can be trusted,” the gentleman replied ; he 
is a good adviser, even if he is not quite orthodox in 
religion. I hope your Ash-Wednesday episode will 
not prove Head Sea fruit.” 

“ Thanks, and au revoiry'* she replied, as he left her 
alone with her mission. 


Chapter II. 

Soon after the gentleman left Mrs. Dunbar, Dr. 
Sewell called and asked with impatience, “how in 
the name of charity have you been celebrating Ash 
Wednesday ? ” 

“ In good works,” she replied, cheerfully. 


A WiNJmrG, WAYWAJSD WOMAJ^, 


11 


“ But what tramp have you in your house, Flor- 
ence ? ” 

“ There is no tramp in my house ; but I will not 
tell you who she is unless you are more amiable.” 

“ You cannot tell me who she is, for you do not 
know. Arthur was an infernal fool to allow you to 
fetch her here. Why in Heaven’s name did he not 
send her to a charity hospital, where she belongs ? ” 

“ The gentleman is not a fool, nor did I know his 
name. I think men are very selfish and cross ; they 
study the end with the means ; they do not do good 
for the sake of good.” 

“ I suppose that opinion applies to me, not to the 
unknown knight ? ” the doctor said, inquisitively. 

“ It applies to everyone who finds fault with a wo- 
man engaged in charity. How would you like to he 
homeless and friendless ? ” 

“ Hot much, unless you would take me in.” 

“If this woman were a man, I presume. Uncle 
Tom, I should he taken in. I think you are very 
inconsistent. You said only yesterday I needed more 
occupation, and now you are discouraging my earnest 
endeavors to be happy.” 

“Ho, I am not; on the contrary, I am prone to 
confess that your charity is very charming, and 
when your religious wings are spread you are very 
persuasive. Still, I have to admit that while your 


12 


A WmmWG, WAYWAEI) WOMAW. 


theory of charity is correct, your practice is doubtful. 
You accept people as you do religion, with blind 
faith; but with all your blindness you are very 
sweet when one of your religious spasms is on, and 
it is possible this old woman may prove a blessing in 
disguise. She will do you just as much good as fast- 
ing and prayer, and no doubt be more agreeable, if 
Mr. Arthur has solicitude for her welfare. You are 
a little humbug — a true type of present-day Chris- 
tianity.’^ 

“ It is not very nice of you to call Christianity a 
humbug,” Florence said, with dignity. “You are 
jealous of the Church.” 

“ Christianity, my dear, is not so great a humbug 
as your protege, and I am not so jealous of the 
Church as I am of your co-worker in this charity-ro- 
mance. I hate to have your house an asylum for 
tramps.” 

“ Mr. Arthur is not a tramp.” 

“ I called no names. Flossy, and if my version of 
the episode is correct, he did not tramp to serve 
‘ the beggar,’ but took the pretty little widow in his 
carriage in the most unconventional manner to secure 
his own pleasure ; and, judging from his interest, he 
was not disappointed. But he would never have 
been so philanthropic if your pretty face had not 
been there to inspire him to noble deeds. There is 


A WmmJVG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


13 


nothing that makes a man more charitable than a 
pretty woman. Come, Flossy, and show me your 
penance. I will, however, absolve you before I see 
her, for I know your heart is golden.’’ 

I had rather be a disciple of Faith with a golden 
heart than a disciple of Reason with a marble heart. 
But I want your professional opinion as freely and 
as fully as you have given your personal ; then I will 
know how the case stands.” 

It is a hopeless case, morally and physically, my 
child. Your Ash-day saint is a fraud.” Still, it was 
evident he was impressed with the refinement and 
beauty still apparent in the thin, pale face of his 
niece’s protege, but he made no comment in her fa- 
vor, from a personal point of view. He only said, 
“ she is half starved and half paralyzed, and liable to 
die at any moment. You must not be alone with 
her. I will send your aunt to stay with you to-night.” 

Soon after, Mrs. Sewell arrived and quickly asked : 
“ Who is she ? ” 

“ A poor woman who is very ill. I brought her 
here to insure good care.” 

“ But, Florence, she may not he a good woman,” 
Mrs. Sewell said, dramatically. 

“Possibly not; none of us are over-stocked with 
the quality ; hut an idea is not a fact.” 

“ WTiat was there in her to excite so much atten- 


14 


A WlJVJVma, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


tion? Why should Dr. Sewell send me here as 
though you had a princess in disguise? How does 
she look ? I am curious to know.” 

“ She looks really very ill,” Florence said, with a 
smile. 

“ But does she look like a lady ? ” 

“Yes. Her hands plainly show she is unaccus- 
tomed to work.” 

“ That is enough,” Mrs. Sewell said, eagerly. “ I 
always suspect a poor woman with delicate hands ; 
they are objects of suspicion.” 

“If delicate hands invite doubt, I know many 
ladies above suspicion,” Florence said, with ulterior 
meaning. “ Poor women with white hands may have 
white hearts, for poverty is not a badge of sin more 
than wealth is of virtue. I have no fear she will 
harm me, for virtue is not easily contaminated, and 
confidence in another is no slight evidence of the 
quality within our own lives.” 

“I do not wish for a homily on virtue,” Mr s. 
Sewell said, with offended dignity. “ I am capable 
of drawing my own deductions and conclusions with- 
out advice from one who knows much less of the 
world than 1 do.” 

“But, Auntie, you invite my opinion. You are 
not possessed of true charity of spirit, while Uncle 
Tom is. He is considerate of the feelings of others, 


A WmmJVG, WATWAUD WOMAJS^. 15 

and never says hateful things to make people feel 
uncomfortable. He is slow to accept all that he 
hears, and is a strong advocate of caution ; hut men 
have more liberal comprehension than women, and 
are more generous, even when they have less faith.” 

‘^We will have no argument,” Mrs. Sewell said, 
sternly, ^‘for I am sure on no one point shall we 
think alike ; but let me say, Florence, there are 
points all your friends agree upon. They all know 
in your thoughts and experience you are not so con- 
ventional as society requires, and it is often asked, 
Wlien will you learn to be more prudent and less 
impulsive ? Your friends see another point in its 
true light, and the question is asked with a smile, 
‘ When will Florence Dunbar marry V You have dis- 
appointed society, have exhausted your energies and 
wasted your time upon thankless charity, and have 
allowed golden opportunities to pass that any wise 
woman would have utilized to great advantage.” 

Would you have me waste the charity of my 
nature on a husband ? ” Florence asked, quizzically. 

^^Yes; a husband is better than a church to regulate 
the life of a woman ; besides, a husband is a respect- 
able appurtenance to any home, when properly se- 
lected and judiciously incorporated into domestic 
life. Every woman is much more respectable with 
such an appendage, and, with your peculiar nature, we 


16 


A WlWmm, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


fear your heart will run away with your head, and 
your life become embittered through some romantic 
adventure, such as you met to-day with that man 
Arthur, whom we do not know. I very much fear you 
will occasion gossip ; for a rich young widow is al- 
ways in danger, and should he guarded by discretion 
and a middle-aged female at all times.-’ 

“ If it becomes a matter of choice between a hus- 
band and a middle-aged female, a husband will be my 
first choice ; but I shall select him myself.” 

But, Florence, do you never think of marriage ? ” 
“ Yes; I have a husband in view, even now; I hope 
he will make me a proposal of marriage ; but if he 
does not, I will make the way plain for him to see I 
am willing and waiting.” 

When will you learn common sense ? ” Mrs. Se- 
well asked, in disgust. 

“ Probably never, for common sense is a rare gift ; 
but if it is ever recognized in any act of mine, I wish 
for full credit. I shall marry the man who pleases 
me, and if my friends approve it will convey satisfac- 
tion, while if they disapprove, it will be a matter of 
regret ; but neither consideration will be sufficiently 
great to cause me to sacrifice my own will or sense of 
duty to myself ; nor do I desire friendship at the ex- 
pense of my own happiness. If ^ woman cai^ please 
herself, she is quite sure of pleasing others,” 


A WIJS'mWG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


17 


“Well, Florence, it is no use for us to talk any 
longer ; our ideas of life do not run parallel. I should 
like to see the person you have in your house,” Mrs. 
Sewell said, with a deep sigh of regret, as if to meet a 
painful duty. 

The war of words between aunt and niece was of a 
polite order, but plain truths were spoken. Florence 
knew her Uncle Tom’s wife was one of Mrs. Grundy’s 
circle, one whom society appeased by apparent conces- 
sion, but never by compromise. She was consulted 
upon social matters as an authority, but in fact her 
opinion was of little consequence, though her vanity 
was gratified and her tongue silenced, which was an 
achievement to be desired. Florence felt a strong 
disposition to assert her own opinions that night, for 
she remembered her morning romance, and, like a 
wise woman, anticipated her aunt’s opposition. She 
knew the true estimate of Mrs. Sewell, but did not 
fear or favor her opinions,, nor was she famous for 
listening with patience to her orthodox homilies 
upon marriage, fashion and society. Mrs. Sewell was 
not famous for kind words for the unfortunate, and 
had little respect for paupers, whether of high or low 
degree. She was one of the class who believed 
poverty a crime and misfortune a disgrace, while her 
narrow mind instantly associated sin with the victims 
of adverse fortune. On the contrary, she discovered 


18 


A wmmm, waywabd woman. 


virtue and goodness wherever wealth existed, no 
matter how doubtfully acquired. Her mantle of 
charity was only broad enough to extend over the 
favored ones of fortune. 

Florence Dunbar, the niece of Dr. Sewell, had in- 
herited from her father a golden legacy in a warm 
heart and loyal nature, filling her life with happiness. 
She was frank and generous, and entirely free from 
suspicion. At the early age of twenty she was left a 
widow, with an independent fortune, and from a 
variety of circumstances remained in her own home, 
near the residence of her uncle, who was extremely 
fond of her. How, at the age of five and twenty, she 
was in the full glory of beautiful womanhood ; and 
her charming petite figure, bright face and open 
frankness of manner had won for her a host of 
admirers, not a few of whom had aspired to her hand. 

Both Doctor and Mrs. Sewell desired her to make a 
second marriage, but her uncle was morally certain 
that interference here would not be tolerated on 
her part ; for with all her sweetness of character, she 
possessed an indexible will that increased with oppo- 
sition. She was an earnest disciple of the faith of 
marriages of love. She had no faith in marriages of 
policy or convenience. A heart for a heart was her 
creed, nor did she disguise her sentiments, for deceit 
was an impossibility in a nature like hers. 


A wmjvma, watwabj) womajv. 


19 


She was an enthusiast in religion, from the fact that 
she was not in love with an object. She required ex- 
citement, and found much pleasure in her charitable 
occupations. 

Together, aunt and niece visited the sick woman’s 
room. She had forgotten sorrow and poverty in 
sleep. During the silent review, Mrs. Sewell said, 
with Pharisaical fervor : 

‘‘ Florence, she may he a decent woman.” 

The next morning Dr. Sewell was surprised at the 
improved appearance of his patient, for a Cinderella 
transformation had been effected in her personal ap- 
pearance, and it was now evident that she had once 
been possessed of remarkable beauty of form and face. 

“What is your opinion now?” Florence asked, 
with prida 

“ My honest opinion is, that she looked into your 
face and divined your goodness of heart before she 
fainted, for dependents are adepts in reading the 
countenances of those whom they seek as benefac- 
tors. She may not be a tramp, but she is a fraud.” 

“ Why invite suspicion ? It is so much sweeter to 
trust than to doubt ; but as a rule men are hard-hearted 
unless they are in love — ^then they are soft enough for 
p/actical purposes,” Florence replied, with a sarcastic 
smile. 


20 


A WlWmm, WAYWAED WOMAJY. 


“I fancy, Flossy, you find few men witli hard 
hearts,’’ her uncle said, looking into her pretty face 
with admiration. 

“ Then, Uncle Tom, be one of the majority.” 

“ I am with the majority ; I can love you and yet 
not love Mrs. Warden. The truth is, my experience 
has made my heart less sensitive and taught me wis- 
dom. I have witnessed so much deception in the re- 
cipients of promiscuous charity, proving at least nine 
out of every ten beggars to be humbugs, that I hesi- 
tate before I believe, and spare myself ingratitude. 
It is a thankless task to aid the great majority 
of beggars; regret instead of pleasure is the se- 
quel.” 

know your words are too true to admit denial, 
but Mrs. Warden seems several degrees removed from 
common mendicants.” 

‘‘ I admit her appearance is favorable, but condi- 
tions are against her. She has a history and mystery 
such as belong - to no ordinary woman. My opinion 
is, she is a Magdalene.” 

“ I am willing to place my intuition against your 
judgment, that her greatest crime is poverty. I will 
get her history to support my theory.” 

Flossy, you know as much of her true story now 
as you will after hearing her version, based on her 
own word, entirely unsupported by evidence. Such 


A Wmmm, WAYWARD WOMAIT. 


21 


women are liars by nature and deceivers by practice. 
She will detail to your willing ears a chapter of false- 
hoods, woven together with improbabilities of love, 
betrayal and poverty. She will appeal to your im- 
pressionable heart with her wrongs. She will draw 
upon her imagination and your sympathies without 
limit ; but don’t let her draw on your bank account 
without reflection.” 

‘^Mr. Arthur is to be the banker of this Lenten 
charity.” 

“ Lenten humbug ! A queen of charity, a mysteri- 
ous knight, and an unknown woman is a heavy com- 
bination for a romance in real life ; but don’t expect 
me to believe her romancing. She may disguise her 
past adroitly, for she has more than ordinary intelli- 
gence. She may interest you, for you are a Saint 
Simplicity, while you have a Saint Duplicity on your 
hands. I have no faith in her.” 

I would not be as unbelieving as a doctor for the 
wealth of the world. As a class they are entirely 
void of faith except in themselves. You know the old 
adage — With as little faith as a doctor? You know it is 
generally believed when three physicians are together 
two atheists, are found. They are true disciples of 
Doubting Thomas. I have always believed he was of 
your fraternity.” 

“ You are hard on the profession ; but have faith 


22 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


in me, Flossy, and never forget man is woman’s truest 
friend and gentlest confidant.” 


Chapter III. 

Florence noticed tliat Dr. Sewell liad not mentioned 
Mr. Arthur’s name during the conversation, and won- 
dered at the omission. She knew he loved her de- 
votedly, sympathized in all her plans, and aided 
her projects to the fullest extent his common sense 
would allow ; still, with all his love and desire to 
please, he often stripped her pet schemes of all dis- 
guise, and made of many pleasing romances, stern 
realities. She felt his silence, and regarded it as 
disapproval of Mr. Arthur. 

The next morning the gentleman called, and was 
admitted just as a visitor was leaving Mrs. Dunbar, 
who received him with evident pleasure. 

Is our Lenten Charity still interesting ? ” he asked, 
with interest. 

“ She is all that we can desire.” Then, in an inimita- 
bly frank manner Mrs. Dunbar made herself irresisti- 
bly charming in detailing Doctor and Mrs. Sewell’s 
opinion. “ I do not think Uncle Tom justified in 
being so doubtful when I find her so interesting.” 

Dr. Sewell is right on general principles, but in 


A wimma, watwai^d womajv. 


23 


this specific case he could extend a little margin with- 
out harm ; still, my protest is emphatic against her re- 
maining here. I have suggested my plans for our 
joint protege to him, and he approves the arrange- 
ment. The truth is, I regard her a ^ happy accident,’ 
for she has been the means of establishing a partner- 
ship between you and me which will, I trust, include 
friendship also, and for this great service in my in- 
terest I feel most kindly disposed toward her.” 

“ She is not a penance to me,” Mrs. Dunbar said, 
with a smile, “ but a blessing in disguise, a pleasure 
to be utilized.” 

“ She is the opportunity of my life ; but unfortu- 
nately I cannot seize the golden boon just yet, for I am 
obliged to be absent from home for a week. But as 
soon as I return I shall make the most of my opportu- 
nities.” 

“We all regard her from different points of view. 
She is your opportunity. She is my pleasure. Uncle 
Tom’s romance. Aunt Sewell’s Magdalene. But let 
us hope our Lenten responsibility will prove an 
Easter blessing.” 

At that moment Mrs. Alger, the lady who had 
kindly aided in the care of the stricken woman the 
day before, was announced, and charity instead of 
opportunities became the subject of conversation. 
The gentleman made his adieux to the ladies in con- 


24 


A WIJSrmm, WArwAUD WOMAJV. 


ventional form, with the promise to secure a home 
for Mrs. Warden as soon as he returned. 

I felt very awkward,’’ Mrs. Alger said. “ I could 
not recall his name, hut it is a pleasure to meet a 
gentleman of his type.” 

“His name is Arthur,” Mrs. Dunbar replied. 

“ Are you sure ? I had an idea it was Dunlap. I 
have his card at home. It is odd I should forget his 
name,” Mrs. Alger said, reflectively. “I still think 
his name commences with D.” 

“ Dr. Sewell knows him ; he said his name was 
Arthur,” Mrs. Dunbar replied. 

“We can accept, him as authority,” Mrs. Alger 
said, witk a smile ; “ but it is time for service, and 
promptness is a Lenten duty.” 

The ladies went to St. Thomas’s together ; still, the 
thoughts of Mrs. Dunbar were not centered on the 
service. The fair worshipper interviewed herself, 
and asked why she should fail to respond to the de- 
mands of her heart when opportunity was within her 
grasp. She knew it was woman’s nature to crave 
love ; still, at times she had fancied she had outlived 
romance and illusions, and believed love would never 
be known again, only as a dead memory. But her 
heart told her love had only slept, and that the 
awakening had come. She thought of Mrs. Warden 
more than the subject of the lesson. She believed 


A wijvmjya, watwabd jtomajv. 


25 


love of man, rather than of God, the secret of her 
sorrow, and longed to hear the heart-history of one 
who had known the weal and woe of love’s absolute 
dominion in the realm where love is king, devotion 
prime minister, and where all men bow in allegiance 
before the tyrant, indifferent to sorrow or sacrifice. 
She felt the divine inspiration hovering over her, 
and wrote in her prayer-hook two new articles to her 
creed, in memory of her conversion to the mighty 
power. 

“ Once I believed love was happiness without alloy. 
I have modified the sentiment ; for observation has 
taught me, and experience confirmed the knowledge, 
that the great majority of lives are matched, but not 
mated. Still, I cliug to the happy belief that some- 
times a higher power than man’s desire unites the 
lives of men and women through destiny, and kin- 
dred natures are made one through the love of God. 

“ I believe each soul born on earth to be but the 
broken half of a perfect sphere, but when mated 
among the lower shades becomes a star in the earthly 
galaxy that gives mankind light and happiness in 
union.” 

Mrs. Dunbar returned from church and visited 
Mrs. Warden’s room, intent upon heart-history. 

I know your present,” she said, “ and I intend to 
be your friend and provide for your future ; but are 


^6 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


you willing to confide to me your past ? There need 
be no concealment or disguise between us. No mat- 
ter what may have been the cause of your misfortune, 
it is not beyond remedy. You can deal with unem- 
bellished facts with me. I want to secure your 
future from human accidents, so common in a wo- 
man’s life, and knowledge of your antecedents will 
aid me materially.” 

Mrs. Warden turned her beautiful, sad eyes upon 
the bright, sympathetic face of her questioner, with 
a long and earnest gaze, as if to read the very heart 
of the woman who had appeared as an angel of mercy 
to her. She seemed satisfied with what she read, 
for she said frankly, in her low, sweet voice, which 
had in it now a suggestion of unshed tears : 

“ Yes ; I will tell you my history. It will do me 
good to unravel the web of life, for there will be no 
more warp or woof, no more blending or coloring 
for effect. The machinery has run down, the end is 
near ; but in the hereafter the broken thread will be 
united by the Great Weaver of the web of destiny. 

“ I am a bohemian. I have hot observed the con- 
ventional forms that society demands of woman, but 
no real guilt is recorded against my name in the 
Ledger of Life, though errors of the head mark 
every chapter of my experience. My heart has 
always been at war with my head, and the result of 


A WlWmO, WAYWAni) WOMAJV^. 


27 


warped judgments marks failure against my name ; 
but no ineffaceable blot is found on the pages, and I 
fully believe in the hereafter I shall know the eter- 
nity of human love, for my conscience approves the 
motives which have made the record of my life. 

“ I have made no confidants, believing it is folly for 
a woman with a history to open her heart ; for if she 
cannot keep her own secrets, how can she expect the 
world to be more cautious of her trusts ? Gossip is 
active enough when based on fiction, but when sup- 
ported by circumstances hard to explain, the world’s 
censure is severe, and little credit given for good in- 
tentions or honorable purposes. Consequently, I have 
kept my own counsels, even when most criticised. 
Adverse circumstances and complicated fortunes have 
made the present conditions deplorable, but the 
strange story of my varied experience may aid you in 
comprehending the forlorn and almost inexplicable 
situation. The secrets of m'y life have been so long 
locked up in my own breast that they have worn like 
a canker ; but no penitent has ever found more relief 
in confession than I shall in opening my heart to you, 
and I trust my confidence will cause the mantle of 
your charity to cover me until I reach the inevitable 
grave. 

First, I wish you to read this package of old 
letters. They will give you the Alpha of a blighted 


28 


A WmJSrmG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


life ; I will give the Omega, in my own way, giving 
my thoughts in the shape and order that they present 
themselves. There are errors and sins, hut I have no 
apology to offer. The atonement is made.” 

Mrs. Dunbar read the letters, written a quarter of a 
century before. Then, as now, men and women 
loved, and wrote and sent letters into the world, 
not knowing the destruction they were liable to pro- 
duce. Letters are love’s artillery, and should only be 
used by lovers at long range, and not heavily loaded ; 
for written words, like a shell bursting in air, are be- 
yond recall. Letters go on their mission not knowing 
their destiny or effect, but all admit that their power 
is great in conveying weal or woe. A letter is an 
appeal hard to resist, when love claims recognition, 
and old letters are powerful witnesses in support of 
evidence, for or against, all concerned. It is the destiny 
of men and women to love, hate and die, under the 
influence of the passion denominated Love. Each 
heart has its own history ; as it is written, so the 
record must stand, and who shall condemn ? 

This is indeed heart-history,” Mrs. Dunbar said, 
as she folded with tender care the story of a life. “ It 
is evident, from these written words, that Walter 
Duncan was the romance of your life ?” she con- 
tinued, inquiringly. 


V A WmmNG, WAYWABB WOMAN. 


29 


Yes, he was my first love ; but the love of my very 
being was given an old man, one whom I loved with 
single-hearted devotion. Until I loved him the good 
points of my character were all overshadowed by pas- 
sion or selfishness. I had longed for the love of a 
controlling, intellectual man, one to lead me up 
higher, and when the happy hour came my surrender 
was absolute. I realized a masculine ideal, who held 
full sovereignty of my soul. In his love I felt I had 
reached ‘the land overshadowed with wings.’ He 
became the abiding enthusiasm of my life, and when 
he died, my heart died with him, and on his monu- 
ment I inscribed : 

“ ‘ In memoriam of eternal gratitude, for the life 
and love of one who made my life bright and happy.’ 

“Yes, the love I bore Mr. Hamilton was the • 
memory of memories. 


Chapter IY. 

“ How^ I will fill in the details of the chapter you 
have read through the medium of those old letters. 

“ I was born in England ; my mother was a French 
woman, and a Catholic of the most uncompromising 
order. My father was an Englishman, of cold,* tyran- 
nical nature, with fixed prejudices against my mother’s 


30 


A WmmWG, WAYWABD WOMAN. 


people and religion. From my earliest recollection I 
feared him ; for he was intolerant and overbearing, 
with violent temper, and when fully aroused was en- 
tirely devoid of mercy. My mother was all heart. The 
atmosphere she most craved was affection, hut un- 
happiness was her fate. At the age of fifteen I was 
motherless. It was generally believed my mother 
committed suicide, but a deeply-rooted suspicion was 
in my heart that my father was more implicated than 
my sainted mother, who had worn a martyr’s crown 
all her married life. All who were familiar with the 
circumstances were of opinion that he was the indirect 
cause ; while the direct cause was an American woman, 
then in London, for whom my father had conceived 
an infatuated attachment, and whom soon after my 
mother’s death he married. I regarded my step- 
mother with aversion ; she knew I remembered my 
mother’s wrongs and defended her memory. The 
consequence was that she made my life wretched, 
alienated any affection my father had for me, and 
made me a disgrace in his eyes. Beside, he knew I 
was familiar with the domestic misery entailed upon 
me, through knowledge of my mother’s rival, and 
both regarded me as an obstacle to their social position 
from that knowledge, and a constant menace to their 
respectability in England ; and so it was decided to 
make America our home. It was a bitter sorrow 


A WIJVmJVG, WATWABD WOMAJV. 


31 


for me to leave England to enter upon the realities of 
life in the States, under such conditions ; but my 
father’s will was law. I was treated with the greatest 
severity; upon the slightest complaint from my 
step-mother to my father of any misconduct on my 
part, I was punished in a cruel manner, and between 
them my happiness was sacrificed without justice or 
mercy. 

“ I was an only child, of sensitive organization, and 
such injustice engendered hatred, deceit and re- 
venge; for I was abused and neglected, while if 
kindness had been shown me love and frankness 
would have been the controlling features of my na- 
ture. My father ought to have placed me in a con- 
vent, under bolt and bar, when he married a woman 
who hated his child. On the contrary, however, he 
allowed me the greatest liberty, so long as I did not 
interfere with his wife. In looking back upon that 
period, so fraught with danger in any young girl’s 
life, it seems to me now that they invited ruin by 
constant and studied neglect of my moral ideas and 
social obligations. We had an elegant home in Hew 
York City, but there was no happiness for me. My 
life was joyless and loveless, without advice, compan- 
ionship or judicious control. I was possessed of an 
ardent, impetuous nature, and was at war with my 
surroundings. In my seventeenth year, at a period 


32 


A WIJmmG, WATWABD WOMAJV. 


of heart-hunger, a change entered my life. I met 
.Walter Duncan, a young man some five years my 
senior, who filled my imagination, and made my hfe 
bright and happy under the influence of love. We 
talked of marriage, but experienced the pleasures of 
love regardless of consequences until awakened by 
scandal, the outcome of indiscretion. I had no one 
to warn me of peril, no one to care for my move- 
ments or to guard my reputation, and was so madly 
in love with Walter that I counted no sacrifice too 
great, no responsibility inexpedient if I could be 
with my lover. The old story repeated itself. In- 
discretions followed. 1 was not guilty of actual sin, 
but in the eyes of the world my honor was compro- 
mised, and my step-mother seized upon the suspicion 
as a fact, threatening me with disgrace divested of 
all romance. 

‘‘I charged the responsibility of the indiscretion 
upon my father. I had followed his example instead 
of my mother’s precept, and would abide the conse- 
quences. I told him parents were not only the guar- 
dians of their children, but the guardians of virtue^ 
and that my disgrace had been invited and planned 
to ruin my happiness. Walter’s uncle objected to 
our marriage and sent him to Europe, and I was sent 
to a convent, without will of my own, where I re- 
mained a close prisoner for two years. The sisters 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


33 


became interested in me, and under the shadow of 
the cross my heart rested. I realized and felt relig- 
ion of the soul, and was so fully occupied that my love 
for Walter became less and less absorbing. It is true, 
I could not forget he had left me in desolation to 
please his uncle, without one expressed regret for the 
injury he had inflicted upon me ; but I condoned the 
offense, for with all his faults I loved him and deter- 
mined to be true to the memory of our love, and 
while I was constant to the inspiration of my soul 
the episode grew dim, and at last became only a 
cherisbed memory, more like a dream than a reality. 


Chapter Y. 

“ Durino my refuge in the convent a flnancial cri- 
sis involved my father’s fortune, and in order to 
avert disaster he compromised with honor ; and to 
avoid exposure found it expedient to sell my hand 
for a price to the man who held knowledge of the 
inner history of the transaction in his keeping. 

“Colonel Warden had met me before I entered the 
convent, at my father’s house. He was as old as my 
father, and only from a commercial standpoint could 
he have ever dreamed of seeking me for a wife ; but 
the opportunity came, or was made, and be demanded 


34 


A WmNIJVG, WATWABB WOMAJV. 


my hand as a condition for replacing the money my 
father had used to bridge over disaster, and the price 
had to be paid, regardless of my will or desire. My 
father ordered me to return home without delay, and 
in a cold but peremptory manner made known the 
contract for my future. I rebelled, but resistance 
was powerless. When he found he could not win 
the desired point by argument or threats, he forced 
it, and actually compelled me to beg for marriage as 
a release from torture. He then forced from me a 
solemn promise not to reveal to Colonel Warden the 
methods he had employed to obtain my consent, and 
I became tlie wife of a man of sixty, without love, to 
escape a father’s cruelty. 

I made no pretense of loving my husband, but re- 
garded marriage a badge of respectability, and a rich 
husband as a means of escape from my father’s con- 
trol, and social independence. Colonel Warden asked 
no pledges ; I made no promises. He accepted me as 
a legal responsibility, with the pride of an old man in 
the possession of a young and beautiful wife, while I 
accepted him as a compromise with fate. Each was 
content, if not entirely satisfied. My husband was 
kind, and often more attentive than desired on my 
part ; still, his demands were modest and he was 
easily satisfied ; for he knew nothing of domestic life, 
and could not miss that which he had never enjoyed. 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


35 


He was of tlie old scliool, with great respect for 
women and with a mortal fear of displeasing me. He 
made my will his law, and under the conditions we 
became accustomed to each other’s society, and I was 
more happy under his protection, with liberty, than I 
had ever been before. 

“We decided to make an extended European tour. 
We each had a faithful servant, and enjoyed our 
bohemian life to a great degree. Occasionally the 
old restless longing to see Walter would come over 
me, but I had no definite information of his move- 
ments except the general knowledge that he was in 
Europe. But Eate favored me, and, as I had hoped, 
his shadow crossed my path. But it did not linger, 
for I made no special effort to meet him. Hew 
scenes and associations distracted my thoughts, and 
his love was only a dim memory. 

“Two years of married .life cycled into eternity 
without change in our domestic life. At that period 
I was handsome and much admired, but general atten- 
tion made little impression upon me, for by nature I 
was absorbent instead of refiective. 

“ The truth, although denied even to myself, was 
that Walter Duncan was the enshrined idol deeply 
loved and silently worshipped, although I tried to 
believe he was forgotten. 

“ There is a link in the chain of destiny that binds 


36 


A WlWmm, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


souls together, and thus mine was hound to his. I 
was drifting into the sea of passion. • 

“Through unseen influences the tide of circum- 
stances was bearing my life-boat out of the waters of 
contentment under the inexorable decree of Fate, 
when my star guided me to Rome. It is said by some 
writer, ‘there is an hour in every woman’s life, 
although its approach is not heralded by premonition, 
or warning whisper, that controls her destiny— a 
moment that comes to all sooner or later, and decides 
the weal or woe of countless futures.’ That hour 
was upon me ; for an irresistible impulse led me to 
the Eternal City, and as I neared Rome the chain of 
memory bound me completely. My heart beat with 
wild pleasure of hope and earnest longing to renew 
broken vows. 

“ Two days after our arrival we attended a reception 
given by the American Minister. I dressed in my 
most becoming costume and wore the dowers Walter 
most admired, to attract the star toward which I was 
gravitating. 

“ At that reception I met him who was still the idol 
of my heart, and in that meeting forgot for the 
moment that that idol had proved but common clay. 
The moment we met, and my eyes took in the full 
realization of his ripened manly beauty, my woman’s 
soul was swept with the full tide of the pent-up pas- 


A WmmJVG, WAYWAUD WOMAJV. 


37 


sion of years, and' my heart told me that the old love 
was not dead, but ready to leap forth a consuming 
flame. But Walter’s reception chilled me. He was 
evidently much surprised, hut his manner was cer- 
tainly not that of a lover. It seemed intended to in- 
dicate to me that the past was a dead letter to him. 
The light of love faded from my eyes and the warmth 
from my heart. I. experienced in that moment a 
great revulsion of feeling, but by a supreme effort re- 
tained my outward calmness. His formality wounded 
both my feelings and my pride. Had he shown more 
pleasure I should have felt less keenly the revelations 
of that meeting; but his indifference invited con- 
quest. I accepted the invitation. 

‘ I will make him love me again,’ was my unspoken 
resolve ; and it is known that that which a woman 
ardently longs for is usually accomplished, and woman 
is a great force, a tremendous fact, when fully 
aroused. 

“We were alone for a moment, with opportunity to 
speak without restraint, but the only pleasure he 
evinced was in finding me another man’s wife. 

“ ‘ Have you forgotten ?’ I asked, with significance. 

“ ^ Ho ; but silence is golden when a woman has 
sealed her history with a wedding ring.’ 

“ ‘ But let me tell you why the seal was set,’ I 
said, eagerly. 


38 


A WIJVJVIJVG, WAYWABD WOMAJV. 


‘ No,’ lie said, firmly ; ^ I have seen your in- 
demnity. A husband is realized hopes, and is no 
doubt full compensation for any loss you may have 
sustained ; besides, there are chapters in every life 
that when once closed should not be opened again. 
Let me introduce you to my intended compensation,’ 
he said, as a beautiful American girl joined us, to 
whom he was apparently devoted. 

“ The usual greetings were exchanged between 
Miss Bell and myself, and after a few words I passed 
on and joined some other acquaintances. Walter’s 
attentions to the fair American recalled the days 
when I had eagerly listened and believed. Such 
memories are bitter ! 

‘‘As we were leaving the Legation Walter joined 
me a moment to say good-night. ‘ I wish you to 
make my husband’s acquaintance,’ I said. ‘ We will 
hope for a visit.’ 

“ He smiled the old natural smile when he saw my 
dignity of manner, and said : ‘ I will do myself the 
pleasure of calling to-morrow.’ He accepted my 
card, and said au revoir as indifferently as an ordi- 
nary acquaintance. 

“ ‘ Who is that young American V Colonel Warden 
asked. 

“ ‘ Mr. Duncan ; a gentleman whom I used to 
know in New York.’ This was sufficient explana- 


A wmmjsro, waywabd woman. 


39 


tion ; the name of the nephew made no impression 
upon him, though the name of the uncle would have 
awakened memories. 

‘‘Two days later Walter placed a ring on my 
finger, on which was engraved ‘ Kismet.^ Miss Bell 
returned to America alone.” 

“ Allow me to interrupt your history by asking 
how was this accomplished ? I am curious to hear 
the details,” Mrs. Dunbar said, eagerly. 

“ Love is contagious in Italy,” Mrs. Warden re- 
plied. “We experienced an Italian phase of the 
divine inspiration, and under its magical infiuence 
accepted love’s sacrifice brought about by the little 
sentence, ‘ I love you,’ a declaration that has wrought 
more happiness and more ruin than any other sen- 
tence ever uttered.” 

“Tell me the means: I know the result,” Mrs. 
Dunbar replied. 

“ The night I met Walter I could not sleep. A 
battle raged between my head and heart — ^between 
love and duty. I weighed all the pros and cons of the 
case in a fine balance, and decided, ‘ Walter Duncan 
shall not marry if I can prevent it. I will not be 
forgotten for the new-found happiness of a bride ; 
and if in the course of human events I am left a 
widow, he shall redeem his broken pledge, and make 
me his wife.’ 


40 


A WIWmWG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


“ Between passion and pride I was well nigh dis- 
tracted. I had discovered that I loved Walter now 
with all the ardor of my strong, passionate nature. It 
was not trusting, happy love which I felt, but a love 
which determined me to conquer and bring him to 
my feet. I thought not of my duty to my husband, 
nor of Walter’s duty to the woman whom he had but 
recently promised to make his wife. I was alike un- 
mindful of his honor and of my own. There was no 
mercy in me, either for him or for her; but only a 
wild longing to be able to call him my own. I felt 
murder in my heart ; I was jealous of Miss Bell, and 
a fixed determination made me desperate, wounded 
through the heart, and excited to revenge by his 
apparent indifference. A woman under such emotions 
is a dangerous possibility — one that a sensible man will 
guard against, or conciliate. 

“ I had sufficient self-control to resort to diplomacy 
to win him. 

“ He was to call on the day following the recep- 
tion ; but I decided not to see him then, and there- 
fore arranged with my husband to take me to some 
places of interest which would occupy the day and 
evening. I then wrote Walter that we would neces- 
sarily be absent from home, and expressed friendly 
regret that I could not see him. I also congratulated 
him upon his approaching marriage to the beautiful 


A wijmma, watwajii) womajv. 


41 


American, and told him that while I realized that he 
no longer loved me and I must learn to accept the in- 
evitable, I could see no reason why we should not en- 
joy a lasting friendship and meet upon that safe foot- 
ing. I added that I should he happy to receive him 
on the following day. A man can he reached through 
persuasive influence when reproach or coercion fails. 
Few men can resist for any length of time the plead- 
ing of real affection. Walter was possessed of a 
chivalrous nature, with lofty sentiments regarding 
man’s duty to woman, and only circumstances over 
which he had no control had made him untrue to me. 
I do him this justice, for I believe it is true. You 
have read the letter I wrote him, and it tells its own 
story ; I knew he was bound by new ties, but I felt 
he would listen to my words. No gentleman desires 
to see a woman humiliated in her own estimation, nor 
is he flattered to see love replaced by friendship. I 
knew Walter’s weak points. . He did not believe me 
capable of indifference towards him, and was piqued 
by my resignation to my fate. The next day he called. 

I had arranged to receive him alone in my sumpt- 
uous apartments at the hotel, and had dressed myself 
with great care in the minutest detail. Walter’s favor- 
ite flowers were in the vases, and a bouquet of them 
was in the corsage of my rich dress. Excitement had 
given a color of unusual richness to my complexion. 


42 


A WmmWG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


and my dark eyes were brilliant with tlie light of an- 
ticipated triumph. A glance at my tall, superbly- 
dressed figure reflected in the full-length mirror of 
my dressing-room, assured me that I was a most 
beautiful woman ; and I never had rejoiced in the 
knowledge of it as I did at that moment. 

“As Walter was announced at the door of my 
private parlor, I arose from a distant sofa and came 
forward with a smile to meet him. As I did so I did 
not fail to notice with a glad heart-bound his involun- 
tary start of surprised admiration as he first caught 
sight of me. He recovered himself instantly ; but 
the first shaft had found its way through his armor. 

“ ^ Welcome,’ I said, with extended hand. ‘ This 
visit marks the beginning of a new era in our lives. 
Henceforth we are to be only friends ; but the best 
of friends, I trust.’ 

“ He seemed just a little piqued at my words, but 
said, while holding my hand, . 

“ ^ You were very cruel to deprive me of this 
pleasure for a whole day.’ 

“ ‘Was it a deprivation ? ’ I asked, with a smile. 

“ ‘ Indeed it was ; a great one.’ 

“ ‘ I am sorry, but I think you have been consoled,’ 
I said, as I led the way to seats. 

“ ‘ Hot until this moment,’ was his reply. Then he 
looked at me quite earnestly, and said, ‘ Why, Amelie, 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


43 


I never saw you so beautiful. You look positively 
radiant. Wbat have you been doing to yourself ? ’ 

“ I laughed lightly, though my heart was fluttering 
with excitement. ‘I do not know that I deserve 
your compliment,’ I said, ‘ but if so, let us say it is 
in honor of our new compact.’ 

“ ‘ What compact ? ’ 

‘ Of eternal friendship.’ 

“ ‘ I have not yet subscribed to that compact,’ 
he said ; and then, quite seriously, ‘ I fear it would 
be a dangerous one for either of us to make.’ 

^ But why ? ’ I asked, with a little heart-sinking. 
‘ Surely there can be no danger in true friendship 
between you and me ? ’ 

There was no reply to this, while Walter sat for a 
moment, apparently absorbed in earnest thought. 
Then he arose and paced the room with slow step. 
Finally he paused in front of me and said, ^ Amelie — 
Mrs. Warden — this is all a farce.’ 

“ ‘ What is a farce, Mr. Duncan ? ’ I asked, coolly. 

“ My use of his last name seemed to sting him, for 
he gave a quick start. 

“ ‘ I mean this talk of friendship between you and 
me,’ he said. ^ Amelie, you are a wife and I am en- 
gaged to marry a lovely woman whom I thought I 
loved. There can be no friendship with honor be- 
tween you and me, and you must see it.’ 


44 


A WII^SIWG, WAYWABD WOMAN. 


“ ^ Engaged to a woman lie thought lie loved ! ’ Mj . 
heart gave a great bonnd as he uttered these words ; 
but I said quite calmly, ‘ must we, then, be ene- 
mies \ ’ 

“ He had resumed his seat, and his head was lean- 
ing upon his hand. Suddenly he asked, ^ Amelie, do 
you love your husband ? ’ 

“ ‘ That is a question, Walter, which you have no 
right to ask.’ 

“ ‘ You are right,’ he said, quite humbly. ‘ But I 
am answered. Why did you marry ? ’ 

“ ‘ That is a question I would have answered 
unasked at the Legation if you had cared to hear it,’ 

I said, warmly. 

“ ^ I should like to hear it now,’ he said, simply. 

“ ^ I will tell you,’ I said, my eyes blazing indig- 
nantly at the thought of my wrongs. ^ I was forced 
to marry. My father took me from the convent 
and brought me home to his house for the purpose of 
marrying me to Colonel Warden, who appears to 
have had some hold upon him. I refused to do his 
bidding, and then he made me a prisoner in his own 
house and beat and starved me into submission. I 
grew weaker and weaker day by day, and my will 
weakened with my bruised and starving body. I was 
scarcely more than a child in some things, and finally 
I yielded. I married to save my life. I do not love 


A WmmJVG, WArWABD WOMAJV. 


45 


my husband, and never did ; but he has always been 
kind to me.’ 

‘‘Walter’s cheeks were flushed and teats were 
in his eyes as I flnished this brief narrative. ‘ I 
never dreamed of anything like this,’ he mur- 
mured. 

“ Then I arose from my seat and went over to him 
where he sat. ‘ Walter,’ I said, ‘ you once told me that 
you loved me, and I believe you told the truth. God 
knows how deeply I loved you. Now that it is all 
over, and you are to marry another woman, will you 
— can you have the heart to deny me the poor boon 
of your friendship ? ’ 

“ In my earnestness I had laid a hand upon his 
shoulder, and as I bent over him in my eagerness I 
leaned lightly against him until the flowers in my 
corsage brushed his lips. The light contact of my 
person with his had set my heart beating so wildly 
that he must have felt its pulsations. With appar- 
ent unconsciousness he had taken my disengaged 
hand in his ; and as I flnished, almost in tears, he rose 
from his seat with a great sigh, threw his arms about 
me, and held my throbbing bosom close against his 
breast, while he said, ‘ I can deny you nothing, my 
darling, for I love you ! ’ 

“ As he held me thus, my strong, eager arms twined 
themselves around his neck, my joyous face looked up 


46 


A WmmJVG, WATWAUD WOMAJV. 


into his, and our lips met in one long kiss, which 
seemed to mingle my life wdth his. 

“ When this interview began I was in a certain de- 
gree acting a part ; hut as it continued I lost myself, 
and when the denouement came I was completely 
carried away by the violence of my emotions. Pas- 
sion begets passion ; and Walter was completely over- 
powered by the force of my ardent womanhood. In 
cooler moments he would probably not have commit- 
ted himself ; but now he belonged to me. I did not 
think of this at the time. My only thought, then, was. 
He loves me ! He loves me ! 

“ While we stood thus, bound together in the ecstasy 
of our new-found love, the servant rapped at the door, 
and upon entering handed me the card of another 
visitor, to whom I did not think it best to deny ad- 
mission. 

“ ‘ When can I see you again ? ’ asked Walter, hur- 
riedly, when the servant had gone to usher in the 
guest. 

“ ‘ To-morrow, at the same hour, I shall be alone,’ I 
said. 

“ ‘ I will be here,’ he said ; and took his leave soon 
after the new guest had been introduced. 

“ Walter came at the appointed time, and we met 
as if we had always been lovers. It was then that he 
brought me the ring, and we engaged to marry when 


A WIWmWG, WAYWARD WOMAJY. 


47 


I should become a widow and have the legal right to 
he his wife. We pledged ourselves to wait, with 
souls fortified with patience for the consummation of 
hopes deferred. 

“ I have long since realized with bitter tears how 
wrong and misguided I was at this time. But then I 
was too feverishly happy to think of it. At first my 
woman’s pride had led me to make a .conquest of 
Walter’s love and win him from the woman who had 
taken my place in his affections. But in doing this 
all the ardor of my wayward nature was aroused, and 
my love for him swept away every other considera- 
tion. Had he asked me, I would have put my hand 
in his and gone out with him, even to the ends of the 
earth. 

“ Had I been the wife of a man whom, I loved, 
Walter would have found no place in my future ex- 
pectations; for no woman can love two men at the 
same time in an approximate degree. Hor can a 
woman deceive a man whom she truly loves. When 
a man is assured of the love of his wife he can be 
morally certain his honor is secure in her keeping. 
Marriage without love is a crime, but the disloyalty 
of either party to a loveless union is not a sorrow. 
To this class the sin is in discovery. We know honor 
ought to be regarded, but too often it is weighed in 
the balance and found wanting. Women who truly 


48 


A wnmmG, wafwabd womajv. 


love will suffer and die for the object that inspires 
the sentiment, whether he be worthy or unworthy the 
immolation. Man is woman’s idol, and no sacrifice is 
too great when under the infiuence of love. Cleo- 
patra poisoned herself when all was lost. Fair Helen 
forsook her kingly husband ; and, for the sake of her 
love for his brother, brave Hector was dragged dead 
and bleeding around the walls of Troy. I was a 
woman with a heart. We love first, then moralize 
and usually suffer. It is true I did not love my hus- 
band, and equally true I did love Walter ; but I had 
not absolute confidence in him. Therefore, I was 
supported by self-restraint to a degree few would be- 
lieve ; for it is generally supposed woman’s action is 
grounded on desire, and that to obtain possession she 
will throw away virtue, the anchor of her life, and 
sail out on the sea of compromise, under the ensign of 
sin. I was under the ensign of deceit. My code of 
morals was peculiar to my aggressive nature, and I 
was doubly fortified by experience ; hence I was mis- 
tress^of the situation and won an easy victory. Walter 
was of the order of men won by sweetness, but he 
would have been beyond recall if attempted coercion 
had been detected. 

He was by nature honorable, but like most men 
not entirely constant. He enjoyed general society, 
and his jpost-dbit engagement did not interfere with 


A WINNING, WAYWABD WOMAN 


49 


his attentions to other ladies. This caused me much 
jealous pain, and kept me constantly exercised re- 
garding his movements, and I have to admit it re- 
quired all my endeavors to keep him in love with 
another man’s wife. 

“ One year of unalloyed happiness passed in Eome. 
One day was a reflection of another, and each filled 
with delight. Walter worked hard to attain emi- 
nence in the art he loved and had chosen as mistress ; 
and while he was occupied my jealousy slumbered. 
Colonel Warden became devotedly attached to him, 
and in every way enjoyed his friendship. 

“Walter was eminently respectable by nature and 
practice, and was anxious to regard all the proprieties 
of life and observe the conventional forms of society. 
I discovered I was not fully informed of his social 
movements, and, woman-like, demanded his abandon- 
ment of all society wherein I was not incorporated- 
It is surprising how weak a man is when under the 
influence of a determined woman. He seems shorn 
of his strength, and his power of resistance is gone. 
Love of woman and fear of woman have a controlling 
influence over the majority of men. Walter loved 
me much, but feared me more, and had due regard 
for near and remote consequences. The belief that 
he really loved me was compensation for all I had 
endured, and I asked for no future indemnity. My 


50 


A WmWIJYG, WATWABD WOMAN. 


love for him had been tested by silence, separation, 
good and evil fortune. Yet the flame burned as 
brightly as when first kindled. I was not robbing 
my husband of my love, for he had never won it. 

“One day when moralizing with Walter, and urg- 
ing him to abandon society, I said: ^My heart has 
been yours from the day you acknowledged that you 
loved me, and now that we are again united, I am 
supremely happy, and will be true to the author of 
my new-found happiness. There will be no conces- 
sions made or privileges granted on my part, nor 
will any disloyalty be tolerated. You deceived me 
as a child, but now I am educated.’ 

“ ‘ "Who has been your educator ? ’ Walter asked. 

“ ‘ hTo one. It is an innate quality in the nature of 
woman to be cautious, wise and logical with a man 
who has once failed her through weakness, when he 
should have been strong ; and knowing your nature 
as I do, I claim undoubted loyalty.’ 

“History always repeats itself. I became jealous 
of attentions Walter paid to a young lady whom we 
knew. We had often indulged in theoretical quar- 
rels, but a practical one became recorded. He said, 
‘ The time has come for us to part, and you have your- 
self to thank for the crisis. I am weary of your com- 
plaints ; your attentions are a bore to me, and your 
love more of a torment than a pleasure. I am to 


A wiJmma, wayward woman. si 

leave Rome to-day for an indefinite period. I have 
already squandered too much valuable time, and must 
retrieve my error before it is too late.’ 

“ ^ Yon dare not ‘leave me,’ I said, in anger. 

‘ Yon have yet to learn that yon must never dare 
a man,’ he said, with a fiash of angry resentment in 
his eyes. ‘ I shall go where I please, and pay atten- 
tion to those who suit my fancy, and the sooner yon 
understand this the better it will be for yon ; for the 
moment yon attempt to rnle^ you ruin.’ 

“ I realized I had made a mistake. I urged and 
pleaded with him to remain, but that afternoon he said 
good-bye to Colonel Warden with evident regret, and 
left me without one expression of regard, or hope of 
return. Weeks passed in silence, and he did not 
come to me. I went to him. 

‘Won have read the correspondence, and can judge 
impartially of the situation. 


Chapter YI. 

“ In Paris an event of moment was written on our 
domestic record. A little daughter was born to us on 
Christmas morning — a golden link in the chain of 
circumstances, to give new coloring to my life, and 
honest purpose to my action. I wrote and asked 


52 A WAYWAIW WOMAN. 

Walter to stand god-father to a bond of union making 
the pledge of love between husband and wife sacred. 

“We remained in Paris for three years. At first, 
though I had never faltered in my love for Walter, 
he did not love me. He felt bound by duty, while 
making every effort to break his chains. Walter was 
endowed with great powers of adaptation, and became 
indispensable to Colonel Warden, and their mutual 
devotion often made me unjust to both. We were a 
singular trinity. I never wearied of Walter’s society, 
while he never wearied of Colonel Warden’s. Wal- 
ter always urged him to join us, but the assurance 
that his company was desired seemed sufficient. He 
did not find it agreeable to accompany us in our long 
walks and excursions, so exhilarating to youth and 
love, but a decided bore to old age. The consequence 
was we were much alone, and gradually Walter re- 
nenewed his former allegiance. But I longed for 
complete conquest, for I did not enjoy his confidence, 
nor fully regain my place in his heart. 

“ Ho woman, no matter how exalted her position 
or brilliant her attainments, can command the respect 
of a man when she resigns the grandest quality that 
invites it. Men may love, and claim to have implicit 
trust, but in the secret chambers of their hearts they 
despise a woman’s weakness. This is man’s nature, 
and is the true reason why a man of real character 


A WIJVmWG, WATWAUD WOMAJV: 53 

seldom, if ever, takes a wife from the class of women 
whom men can easily approach with assurance of re- 
sponse. Man fears to make such a woman priestess of 
the home. How many husbands have been lovers of 
women not wholly without, yet not quite within, the 
pale of good society ; yet fail when legal opportunity 
offers to make them wives ! Wlien a man is left a 
widower he soon draws the line very closely, having 
discovered the price of virtue as a home commodity, 
and therefore seeks a woman of undoubted repute 
for a wife. 

This knowledge of mankind made me distrust 
Walter, and the fear constantly haunted nje that our 
engagement would never be legally consummated. I 
often endeavored to win from him some expression 
regarding our future; for Colonel Warden was slowly 
but surely nearing the end, through the insidious 
workings of brain disease, and his death became only 
a question of time. But Walter would never will- 
ingly speak of our intended marriage ; nor did he 
once admit the desire to hasten the time when he 
could accept his privileges, and make me his wife. I 
never felt that my love for Walter injured me or 
wronged my husband, so long as we avoided the 
appearance of evil and lived under the seal of re- 
spectability, and I felt neither remorse nor regret. I 
lacked sensibility ; my logic was false and my reason- 


54 


A WINWIJVG, WATWAJRD WOMAJV. 


ing defective, but it was sincere. But the thought 
that Walter would make me a moral responsibility 
instead of a legal one, was the shadow of my life. I 
know the human heart is a mystery, and love a higher 
power than we can comprehend. Let the world call 
it weakness or insanity, it is irresistible and absorb- 
ing. When a woman truly loves she seeks with all 
the strength of her nature to awaken response in the 
object of her affection, and too often she cares very 
little what form of relation is assumed so long as she 
is beloved with equal ardor. Many deny this self- 
evident truth, but the fact remains when a woman is 
fully com:g:iitted through the heart. I felt, without 
clearly understanding, that the rules suitable for most 
lives did not apply to us. I do not claim that we did 
right to ignore the code of society, nor do I suppose 
as a rule such relations as existed between us are ap- 
proved ; but I did not regard our intimacy as ques- 
tionable, as no one suffered in consequence. I do not 
think Colonel Warden ever doubted Walter, or sus- 
pected my disloyalty, and my servants were too wise 
and well paid to gossip ; yet, I know even under such 
conditions it is not best to despise danger and court 
temptation by such freedom between a fascinating 
man and a warm-hearted woman, l^o woman can 
afford to risk the peril; but who ever did, or who 
ever will, count the cost of love ? 


A WIJVmJVG, WATWAUD WOMAJV, 


65 


“ One day I heard Walter say to Colonel Warden, 
‘A man never makes overtures of a doubtful nature 
so long as he believes a woman unapproachable, nor 
can I understand how he can attempt a liaison with a 
woman he respects, or for whom he has sympathy.’ 

“ These words of his seemed burned into my heart. 
I asked myself constantly, ‘who can tell why we 
love ? ’ One may as well ask, ‘ why does the sun rise ? ’ 

“ I believe friendships may exist between men and 
women where there is no barrier, nor any sin. No 
doubt there are episodes in the lives of most husbands 
that wives would censure, yet which do not war 
directly with domestic loyalty or society. But there 
is peril in the venture. I have wandered from my 
subject in defense of my theories and practice re- 
garding the influence of love over the destinies of 
humanity. 


Chapter YII. 

“ After an absence of ten years we returned to 
America. Both my father and his wife had died 
during our residence in Europe. War was a fact in 
the States, and my husband’s estate demanded atten- 
tion ; besides, he was physically and mentally incapaci- 
tated, and longed to die at home. 


56 


A WlJVJVma, WATWABD WOMAJV. 


“Colonel Warden was rich, I was extravagant, 
and Walter believed in a ‘fitness of things.’ We 
made an elegant home, perfect in all its appoint- 
ments, on Fourteenth street. Walter took rooms at 
the Beaufort, not to scandalize his uncle, for whom 
he had not only a great affection, but moral fear. 
He was more anxious to please him in social and 
domestic affairs than me. 

“Walter had power of attorney to act for Colonel 
Warden, and I had absolute faith in his trusteeship. 
He invested at his own option, and all of his transac- 
tions were entered into without any reference to 
the will of the creator of the ways and means. 
Walter had confidence in American securities, and 
made a large purchase of 5-20 bonds. He also in- 
vested in railroad securities to a large amount, and 
in up-town real estate. He purchased eight houses 
on Twenty-third street in my name ; these he leased, 
receiving rents and appearing as principal in the 
matter. I realized that affairs were too complicated, 
but trusted a marriage certificate would adjust our in- 
terests and make them mutual. 

“Early in December Colonel Warden died, and 
proper respect was paid his memory. In his will he 
appointed Walter guardian of his child and executor 
of his estate. My dependence upon him was natural, 
but, true to my nature, I exaggerated it in order to 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


57 


show my confidence in his management of our affairs. 
Once I sent him a note that proved the power of 
written words, and demonstrated the fact that men 
will not destroy letters from women, even when 
they know they are filled with words of compromise. 
Ashes should hide all such indiscretions. 

“ On Christmas day Walter was to dine with me to 
talk over affairs. He called in the morning to tell 
me he had purchased a new horse, which he was to 
ride that afternoon in the Park,- but would be with 
me in time for late dinner. 

‘‘ ‘ Will you renew our engagement as a Christmas 
gift ? ’ I asked, as he was leaving. 

‘ I don’t intend to be drawn into argument upon 
that question, for what I have seen of married life 
causes me to regard it a doubtful expedient. In my 
opinion we are much more content now than we shall 
be to enter upon untried relations ; besides, I have 
about decided not to marry during my uncle’s life.’ 

‘ That is a man’s excuse,’ I said, bitterly. ^ It is 
the old story of a real or an imaginary objector, when 
a man does not wish to marry ; but when he does, he 
overcomes every obstacle regardless of near or remote 
consequences.’ 

“ ^ I didn’t overcome the old Colonel,’ he said, with 
a smile. 

“ ‘ Ho. On the contrary, you did all in your power 


58 


A WATWAIiD WOMAJV. 


to prolong his life ; but all is changed now. When 
yon call for yonr liberty I shall call for my money, 
and the sooner we meet facts and figures the better it 
will be for me.’ 

“ ^ Eternal separation is my most earnest desire,’ he 
said, angrily. ‘ You are not the kind of woman a 
man would select for a wife unless he had softening 
of the brain.’’ 

“ He left without another word. He resented with 
much temper my reference to money affairs, for he 
was independent of me financially, and I had had 
no reason to make refiections upon his manage- 
ment. 

“ I was alone with my thoughts, and my brain 
seemed an arsenal, but I could evolve no plan to en- 
force surrender, and only decided to be my own de- 
fender. 

“ Dinner remained unserved, and I felt I was 
watching and waiting his return in vain. I sent a 
note to the Beaufort to remind Walter that our Christ- 
mas dinner was waiting for him. My servant re- 
turned pale with excitement, and said hurriedly, ‘ Mr. 
Duncan has been thrown from his horse and badly 
hurt. He is at the hospital.’ 

“ In a dazed condition I was driven to Saint Luke’s, 
but death was before me. In one quick glance I saw 
my dead idol, and in one moment realized that hop- 


A WINNim, WAYWARD WOMAN. 59 

ing, loving, and fearing were over ; tlien the world 
was a blank. 

“ When I awoke to consciousness, Walter was sleep- 
ing in Greenwood. Our separation was indeed eter- 
nal, and I was alone with mj bitter sorrow. 

“ I awoke from that stupor to realize the seal was 
set upon the past, and a new future awaited me. The 
undesired husband, the cherished lover, had both been 
removed. There was neither shadow nor substance of 
the old life ; I accepted my bereaivement in dumb 
passion. The sense of justice was so great, the pun- 
ishment so just, that I could not rebel. My heart 
seemed marble, and my head filled with a fixed pur- 
pose to erect no other altar in my heart, but to re- 
deem the misspent years. For in that backward look 
over youth and earlier womanhood, only ashes and 
dead-sea fruit were the harvest reaped. 

“ I thought with bitterness : 

‘ Hope promised but to bring me here, 

And reason takes the guidance now; 

One backward look — the last, the last; 

One silent tear, for youth is past.’ 

“ Yes, the loom of hope had ceased to work, the 
shuttle of anticipation to fiy, and during those hours 
of silence, new warp and woof seemed incorporated 
by the Great Weaver into the web of my life. I deter- 


60 


A WATWABD WOMAJV. 


mined to gather up the broken threads of the old life, 
and weave new texture as a true woman. 

My first action was to send Henry to the office of 
Mr. Douglass to obtain an opal medallion that Walter 
had taken to show to a scientist. He was to have re- 
turned it the day he rode to his death, but forgot to 
do so. I sent a note to his uncle for it, and received 
the following reply : 

“ ‘ At your request I return the jewel attached to 
my nephew’s watch-chain at the time of his death. 
He died intestate, and, as the law appoints, I am ad- 
ministrator of his estate. I find his affairs are some- 
what complicated with the Warden estate, and an ex- 
planation is desirable. Will you please call at my 
office at an early day.’ 

“ I went to his office. Evidently he was aware of 
my identity ; but he made no allusion to the past. 

Mr. Douglass was a man with a common-sense, 
rather than a sentimental nature. He was about sixty 
years of age, with a robust constitution and fine pres- 
ence. He had amassed a large fortune, and was highly 
respected as a business-man of good abilities and 
notable integrity. Hnder no circumstances nor for 
any amount of gain would he have knowingly 
wronged man or woman. He had wrought out his 
own success, and was acknowledged sterling in every 
particular. Though he possessed great sagacity and 


A WmmWG, WAYWARD WOMAN, 


61 


penetration of character, he was, nevertheless, in error 
regarding Walter’s estate, and persisted in the error, 
for he believed he was right. This sincerity of belief 
made him honorable, even while great injustice was 
done me. The Warden estate was the price I paid 
for Walter’s love ; Colonel Warden was avenged ! ” 

“ Give me the details of that chapter,” Mrs. Dun- 
bar said, with interest ; “ for I fail to understand 
your estimate of a man guilty of injustice.” 

“It was the law and the facts, more than Mr. 
Douglass, that were against me ; he had no desire to 
wrong me, as subsequent events will show. He asked 
a few incisive questions, and then said : 

“ ‘ I find that you really know very little of your 
own or poor Walter’s affairs. I find my nephew’s es- 
tate much larger than I had believed ; in fact, he 
was rich. Were you dependent upon him ? ’ 

“ ‘ Ho ; Colonel Warden was rich ; Walter had 
charge of his property.’ I then detailed graphically 
all the transactions so far as I was acquainted with 
them, but he listened increduously. 

“ ‘ But, madame, there is no evidence to corrobo- 
rate your statement,’ he said, with a smile. 

“ ‘ But Colonel Warden’s will must confirm my 
statement.’ 

“ ‘ Ho, that fails to do so,’ Mr. Douglass replied. 
‘ So far as that instrument is concerned, he may have 


62 


A WmmJSTG, WAFWABD WOMAJV, 


been possessed of much or little property; but the 
natural inference is that it was not large, from the 
fact that so little form was observed and no bonds re- 
quired. I find my nephew possessed of nearly a half 
million of United States bonds and railroad securi- 
ties. I also find that eight houses which I know he 
purchased and leased are conveyed to you, and there 
is nothing in this transaction to indicate that you had 
any money invested with him, or that he had re- 
ceived value for the property. I find he paid taxes, 
leased and received rents, as in his own right. There 
seems to be a mystery somewhere.’ 

“‘But he bought those houses with Colonel War- 
den’s money, and they were conveyed to me. He 
bought over $300,000 of 5-20 bonds and a large 
amount of stock with my knowledge and consent. 
Walter had power of attorney; besides, I was en- 
gaged to marry him.’ 

“ ‘ You forget,’ he said, with a smile, ‘the property 
was purchased months prior to Colonel Warden’s 
death.’ 

“‘Yes; but Colonel Warden was to ill to attend 
to his affairs, and I felt Walter was faithful to 
his trust. Colonel Warden was rich, and I had all 
the money I desired, independent of Walter.’ 

“ ‘ If this assertion is a truth, why did you ever 
write this note ? ’ he said, producing the following : 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


63 


“ ‘ Please send me $500, and confer a favor. I ought to be 
less frequent in my demands, but it is so easy to spend money, 
and you are such a generous banker, that I draw upon you in 
confidence assured of a speedy response. A. W.’ 

yon write this?’ he asked, with a judicial 
look and. voice. 

‘ Yes.’ 

“‘Well, madam, in view of this fact no jndge or 
jury would render a verdict in your favor. Why 
did you ever write such a note to a man holding your 
fortune in trust ? ’ 

“ ‘ Because 1 loved Walter, and when a woman loves 
as I did she is a fool.’ 

Your note indicates it,’ he said, with a smile, 
‘for it is proof positive against your claim. Now, 
Mrs. Warden,’ he added, seriously, ‘make me a posi- 
tive statement, such as you will be required to make 
under oath in a court of equity. What do you know of 
Colonel Warden’s business matters with my nephew?’ 

“ ‘ Nothing, absolutely nothing, excepting what 
Walter told me, and I believed him implicitly.’ 

“ ‘ He was evidently closely associated with the 
Warden estate, but as the case now stands I do not 
see how you can verify your statement. I should 
like to unite friendship with business, but as an ad- 
ministrator, law and facts will have to govern me. 
Have you no counsel ? ’ 


G4 


A WlJVWIJSra, WArWAJ^D WOMAJV. 


“‘No; Walter attended to every detail of the es- 
tate.’ 

“ ‘ My advice is that you secure Mr. Stan wood to 
act for you. He is one of the most eminent lawyers 
we have, and he can investigate every investment 
and transaction. Then we will refer it, and abide the 
judgment of the referee. Allow me to suggest that 
you be very reticent in speaking of Walter except 
in connection with your husband’s affairs. I pity 
you and will protect your rights so far as may be in 
my power, for I realize the moral equity of the case 
and will be your friend.’ 

“ These words of kindness weakened my determi- 
nation. I decided to trust Mr. Douglass without con- 
test, for I was weak enough to be flattered, and re- 
garded his favor of more value than money. People 
who have never known the want of money do not 
know its value. 


Chapter YIII. 

“ The following week I met the referees by ap- 
pointment at Mr. Douglass’s office, where the sup- 
posed facts were brought out, and the case decided 
against me, so far as the personal property was con- 


A wmmm, waywabd woman. 65 ‘ 

cerned. The real estate in my own name was not 
claimed by the Douglass family. 

“ Mr. Douglass was gentle but firm in his manner. 
He admitted that a moral but not a legal claim ex- 
isted. He believed I was honest in my claim, but in 
error as to whom the property belonged ; and more 
than this, I had no proof to substantiate my claim in 
a court of equity. 

Guilt made me a coward. A person with a his- 
tory must avoid litigation or expect disgrace. Dis- 
cretion invited me to accept compromise, but it made 
me realize the truth of the dread sentence, ^ Your sin 
shall find you out.’ 

“ The day after the decision Mr. Douglass called at 
my house for papers he desired to look over in the 
settlement of Walter’s estate, and by a few personal 
interrogations won my confidence. He did more, for 
he won my heart’s secrets, and won my eternal 
friendship. A woman deeply in love or deeply in 
grief becomes confidential ; but even now, in recall- 
ing that interview, I cannot understand how it 
was accomplished. Had he been severe in his judg- 
ments he would have found me equal to the emer- 
gency, for I possessed an indexible will that grew 
stronger with opposition, but was easily led through 
kindness or affection. 

“ ^ If I were you,’ he said, fixing upon me a seri- 


66 


A WINNING, WAYWABD WOMAN. 


ous, earnest gaze, ‘ I would never refer to m j past, 
for it is inexpedient on the part of any woman who 
desires to retrieve mistakes. Hemember, friendship 
is the wisest relation between man and woman. It was 
too liberal, thongh very natural, that you loved Wal- 
ter, circumstanced as you were ; but that is a memory. 
Kow, maintain your dignity and innocence of woman- 
hood, and the error will not be a reproach to you. 
So long as a man believes a woman pure, just so long 
is she safe ; and virtue, real or assumed, is woman’s 
protection so long as she defends the claim by a life 
that invites belief. 

‘ You are alone, and your life is one of peril, so 
removed from feminine influences ; but I beg you 
not to drift with women of doubtful reputations, even 
though fully accredited by society; but keep your 
life above suspicion.’ 

“ His words made a deep impression upon me, and 
I resolved to make myself worthy of his regard. My 
child was the dearest object of my life, and I deter- 
mined to make my life blameless for her sake. I 
have often observed how careful parents are to avoid 
the censure of their children. Men who are not so 
loyal as their wives demand shrink with dread from 
exposing their children to sliame or reproach by acts 
reflecting dishonor upon them. They dread an expose 
more on account of their children than their wives. 


A WIJVmJVG, WAYWABI) WOMAJV. 


67 


This may be accounted for by the philosophical rea- 
soning of my servant, who once said to me relative to 
some domestic affair of his, ‘ A man don’t care for a 
wife’s feelings as he does his child ; for she is not a 
blood relation.’ 

Mr. Douglass became very fond of little Amelie. 
He was a widower, and seemed to renew his youth in 
her love. At the expiration of the year of my widow- 
hood he paid me the greatest compliment a man can 
offer to a woman. He asked me to be his wife, and 
the month of June was named as the time when our 
marriage should be consummated. 

“On Christmas Eve, the anniversary of Walter’s 
death and little Amelie’s birthday, she was taken sud- 
denly ill. That natal day was the fatal day to her sweet 
young life. She was attacked with croup, and though 
all that love or money could do was done, human aid 
was unavailing. My darling was taken from me. 
With a dying look on her beautiful face she said to Mr. 
Douglass, “Uncle Walter, I want your arms close 
around me when I cough — then I am not afraid.’ He 
held her to his heart, and in broken gasps she said, ^ I 
love you.’ I held her dear little hands clasped tight 
in mine in those moments of return of love and rea- 
son, in the vain endeavor to keep her with me. Yet 
I felt she was inevitably slipping away from me into 
the deep, cold tide that would separate us forever — 


68 


A wmmwa, watwajh) womajv. 


the inexorable river of death. I was frantic to save 
her, or else go with her into the dark waters. Bnt 
my prayers and my agony availed not. She floated 
out alone upon the morning sea of eternity. In the 
cold gray dawn of that anniversary day, a choked 
gasping seized her ; the gray veil of death shadowed 
my child, and she spread her wings to join the 
angels who awaited her. Little Amelie was in 
Heaven ! 

“ I was too utterly crushed to go with her to the 
grave in Greenwood. Mr. Douglass laid my darling 
with tender care in the city of sorrow. My heart 
seemed buried in her grave. I have endured much, 
but there is no sorrow that cuts a mother’s heart like 
the sorrow for the death of a child. 

“What a change had been wrought in my life 
within that brief twelvemonth ! And yet my cup was 
not full. When the new year dawned upon me Mr. 
Douglass was dying. He contracted a severe cold 
the day little Amelie was buried, and the day follow- 
ing was dangerously ill of pneumonia. Anxiety in- 
creased ; there was no hope ; then the word came, 
‘ Mr. Douglass is dying.’ I went to his house im- 
mediately, but death had again preceded me. In 
one glance I took in the home where Walter had 
slept in death, and realized that the uncle had joined 
the nephew in the land of mysteries. 


A WmmWG, WATWAJilf WOMAJV. 


69 


‘^Dr. Allen, who had attended little Amelie, met 
me as I entered the house of mourning. 

“ ‘ Is it true V I asked. 

“ ^ Yes ; he is dead. God knows I regret it, but 
human skill could not avert it.’ 

“ Young Mr. Douglass, his only child, was present, 
but in too much sorrow to notice persons or events. 
The servants were weeping and praising the master, 
in the broken, unstudied speech that is so eloquent 
and sincere. 

I entered the chamber of death, and alone with 
sorrow whispered into deaf ears, which yet seemed to 
listen, an eternal farewell. I sent messages of love to 
little Amelie, nor was Walter forgotten. 

“I returned to my desolate home, thinking God 
was unjust. Yet we are told in the end it shall be 
seen God is not partial, nor the unequal Dispenser of 
life’s issues. I longed to die, but fate decreed other- 
wise. I could not pray ; I could not ask for life, for 
the last link was broken at the grave. My only con- 
solation was that in the hereafter all souls shall find 
what life is, and the hearts that truly love will some 
day, somewhere, and somehow, in God’s ways be 
united. In a backward glance over the past, only 
made manifest when the occasion become imperative, 
I longed to visit my convent home. I felt my refuge 
was under the shadow of the cross. I felt the best 


70 


A wmmm, waywabd woman. 


part of my nature would have died when Walter left 
me had not the influence of Mr. Douglass exercised 
itself over me in my hour of greatest need, when I 
had little faith in good women or honorable men, or 
in the high purposes or incorruptibility of any motive 
or endeavor. Distrust filled my nature and taught 
me to judge others by my own standard of morals ; 
for if faith or goodness had existed in my character in 
youth, it had been rooted out by license of thought 
and action in later years, when I was surrounded by 
infiuences that denied the existence of intrinsic good. 
Deceit was occasioned by neglect and mismanagement 
in leaving me absolutely to my own guidance, thus 
making me dual in thought and dual in action. A 
double life is a heavy price for a child to pay for the 
sins of its parents. These facts may be some slight 
palliation for my errors ; for it is a terrible thing for a 
woman to have no faith, no innate purity of soul, no 
fixed standard of morals to guide her thoughts and 
actions. I felt that a year of penance would make 
my atonement. I left my house with my servants, 
my estate in the hands of Mr. Stanwood, and again 
found refuge in a convent home. 


A WmWIWG, WATWABD WOMAN. 


71 


Chapter IX. 

I REMAINED at the convent in peace and rest with 
out one desire to return to the world ; hut I was sent 
for, and responded. 

At the close of the year Mr. Stan wood wrote me 
in reference to business matters, and expressed a wish 
for me to return to the city, in order to see a certain 
banker and arrange an investment of my income. He 
said: ‘Mr. Hamilton is an able financier, eminently 
respected in business, church, and society ; one of the 
best men, in fact, I have ever known. He was a 
trusted friend of Mr. Douglass, educated at the same 
college, and a member of the same round-headed, 
hard-headed, bald-headed church.’ 

“I returned to the city, and with Mr. Stanwood 
visited the great hanker. A calm, self-possessed man 
with much dignity of manner greeted us cordially. 
One glance at his noble face revealed a benevolent, 
sympathetic nature that instantly attracted me to him. 
He was eminently handsome, tall, broad-shouldered, 
with fine development of figure ; a noble face, large 
head, silver-gray hair and a wide forehead that re- 
vealed intellect ; kind, lustrous eyes that seemed to 
read your thoughts ; a mouth and chin of strength 
aud beauty, that made his countenance wonderfully 


72 ' 


A WIJVmSG, WAFWABD WOMAJF, 


attractive. One look at tliat face inspired implicit 
confidence in the man. I will add that he was a gen- 
tleman of high social standing, his home surrounded 
by all the details and accessories of a refined life. 
He was married, and though he had no children he 
loved mankind, for his heart was large enough to 
embrace many poor children, whom he educated and 
sent out into the world to rise up and call him 
blessed. 

He expressed interest in my affairs, and a willing- 
ness to serve me as Mr. Stanwood suggested, saying, 
with one of his rare smiles : ‘ Stanwood is great on 
legal points, but in financial matters you can trust 
me more confidently.’ 

“ That interview was the direct cause of changing 
my plans. I decided to return to my home and 
abandon the luxury of grief in solitude. Without 
analyzing my thoughts or reasoning with myself I 
felt a new future had dawned upon me. 

“ It is said that each act of our lives is recorded 
for or against us in the eternal ledger, and that 
deeds of kindness, words of love, and good intentions 
are given as credit, while charity covers a multi- 
tude of sins. I balanced the ledger of life by good 
works. I itemized and scrutinized the account of 
my soul, and felt the debt of compromise was can- 
celled. I formed many pleasant acquaintances among 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


73 


men and women of high social distinction, who ap- 
preciated generous deeds, and for the first time in 
my varied experience was a member of society in the 
superlative degree. I remember those days of active 
occupation as the brightest and best chapter of my 
heart’s history. 

“ I become a regular attendant and pew-holder in 
Dr. H ’s church. My seat was near Mr. Hamil- 

ton’s, and naturally our acquaintance ripened into 
friendship on his part, while a stronger emotion filled 
my heart. But that secret was my own, and my self- 
imposed penance was to keep my heart under control, 
and not to allow it to gravitate toward another ideal.' 
I felt a high and lonely life much better than one 
perjured and self-destroyed through folly or weak- 
ness ; yet, I had to admit to myself that a complete 
tidal-wave of passionate love had passed over my 
soul, unsolicited, uninvited, and unsuspected by the 
object. Still, I avoided the slightest outward demon- 
stration, and self-control asserted its sway to a degree 
that made me unnatural ; yet my secret love was 
sweet. Weariness and loneliness took their flight in 
the delicious ecstacy of my new happiness. Each 
day made me more resigned. My life was free from 
disturbing thoughts ; I was firm in habits and prin- 
ciples ; I had, through time and patience, accomplished 
a desired result. 


74 


A WlJVWma, WArWABD WOMAJV^. 


Mr. Hamilton become mj steadfast friend, while 
I became interested in financial affairs, and under 
his direction made several speculations both remu- 
nerative and fascinating. He was not a man of the 
world of the present-day type, to unite business and 
2)leasure in order to ruin. He was an honorable 
exception to the great majority, and observed social 
morality to the highest degree. His ideas of the 
morals of men and the purity of women were high ; 
he had all his life associated only with ladies of 
highest repute, and regarded them from a high 
standpoint. He knew nothing of the fringe of 
society, and less of impulsive indiscretion than any 
man I have ever known. It is true, he recognized 
my regard and was gratified, and though he never 
made the slightest advance toward more than formal 
friendship, I felt intuitively that it was the friend- 
ship of eternity. 

“ He was not only a cautious man, but truly good, 
and guided by fixed principles ; and while my society 
was pleasing to him, I could not induce him to make 
me an exception to his social rules. He was more 
than common clay ; he believed me porcelain, and 
my love was too great to venture the loss of his re- 
gard through indiscretion. I believe men are better 
than women, and the majority would shield us from 
harm if we would be shielded. Most men regret to 


A WIJSrmWG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 75 

know tliat women whom they admire become infatu- 
ated with a little attention on their part. They 
would gladly see reason instead of folly control their 
actions ; hut in woman's character there seem to he 
no half measures. 

“ Mr. Hamilton had no knowledge or appreciation 
of ^ lovers,’ as the term is generally understood, hut 
he knew the value of a warm-hearted, sincere friend, 
and found genuine happiness in my friendship. 
There were times when I wondered how it was pos- 
sible Lhad outlived my love for Walter ; hut one was 
the child-love, the other the woman-love ; and be- 
tween the two, in height, depth and strength, there is 
no comparison. The former was like a brook, the 
latter like a crystal lake, even and without a ripple, 
but fulfilling every purpose for which it was created. 
It is true, my sorrow was warm and fresh, hut under 
the infiuence of his friendship my heart enlarged 
rather than contracted. I had been tried in the 
furnace of experience, with refining effect ; I had 
practiced the virtue of patience until it was second 
nature. To please him, I gloried in my strength to 
remain true, and felt ‘ the whiteness of experience is 
purer than the whiteness of innocency.’ Still, I 
recognized in my nature the great* capacity for love. 
My heart demanded the nourishment. I envied the 
poorest man and woman who loved as husband and 


76 


A wiwma, wArwABD womaj^. 


wife ; and yet it was my destiny to love without hope 
of consummation : my fate, to make a married man 
the idol of my heart, without desire on his part or in- 
tention on mine. My love for him without hope of 
reward proved itself the woman-nature craving kin- 
ship which only love can bestow. Every man and 
woman at some period in life meets this comprehen- 
sive want face to face, for it is the true index of a 
noble heart. Had he been a widower, he would have 
made me his wife ; but his noble, unexpressed love 
became the greatest boon granted me from Heaven. 
In my most melancholy fancies I had never contem- 
plated that history would repeat itself in my life ; I 
was Hachel without hope of reward. Yet, I look 
back upon those golden days with delight, and re-live 
the love I felt for him who moulded my life after his 
own pattern. Had he been a wicked man his influ- 
ence would have been pernicious, for it was absolute. 
But he was one of God’s noblemen, and he did me 
good, not evil, to the day of his death. 

“ One conversation is a reflex of many. He was a 
man that paid few compliments ; his life being made 
up of deeds, not words. Once he said : ‘ I am an old 
man, and your regard for me is indeed flattering, and 
fully reciprocated. • You are to me a feminine ideal 
of beauty and goodness ; I fancy my love for you is 
what it would have been for my daughter, had she 


A WINNING, WATWABB WOMAN. 


7.7 


lived, for yon are constantly in my thoughts, and to he 
with you is my greatest pleasure.’ 

“ ^ Will you love me as your daughter ? ’ I asked, 
earnestly ; ‘ for I love you as I do my Heavenly 
Father.’ 

“ ‘ God bless you, my child,’ he said, in tender sur- 
prise ; ‘ you do not know what you are asking, hut 
you shall never regret this confidence. I will try to 
be a father to you; but, candidly, you do not realize 
the peril you invite. It is very sweet for you to tell 
me so frankly of your affection. But the world has 
no respect for father-and-daughter relations, and scan- 
dal, with or without cause, is always the result. I beg 
you not to attach too much importance to my friend- 
ship, for my domestic relations are such that my first 
duty is to my wife and home ; but you can depend 
upon my unalterable friendship. Our mutual regard 
has been one of those strange accidents God sometimes 
permits, and if it adds to your happiness I am con- 
tent, for my judgment tells me I cannot be as much 
to you as my inclination prompts. You are very dear 
to me for the many qualities you possess of head and 
heart ; but do not love me, for it will only bring un- 
happiness to you. The world does not indorse friend- 
ship like ours. The majority have little faith, and 
talk of tenderness and love between man and woman, 
unless they are husband and wife, as romantic non- 


78 


A WIJ^mWG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


sense, with no good purpose ; as if truth meant ex- 
pediency and friendship only a social relation, based 
on desire, selfish interest and policy. I love you 
sincerely, and have found more pleasure in your 
society than I have ever elsewhere experienced. But 
I love you too dearly to cast a shadow over your life. 
Kor can I change the tenor of my own life. My 
wife and I have grown old together. We have en- 
joyed much happiness, and have few regrets. Mrs. 
Hamilton is a good woman, but she has no affection in 
her nature, and no sentiment. Nevertheless, she is a 
true wife and is devoted to me. I love her, but I do not 
admire her as I do you. Even in her young days she 
never twined herself about my heart as you have done. 
I love you well enough to give you up. I should like 
to see you well married to a man of your own age. 
G-ive him a whole heart, and keep a pure conscience 
for my sake. I am proud of your love, but a heart 
for a heart is the requirement of your nature, and 
should be your destiny.’ 

“ ^ But there are memories that never die,’ I re- 
plied. 

“ H know ; but it is better that grief should soften 
the heart than make it bitter.’ 

‘ Yes ; but there are chapters in my life that 
might be misunderstood by one less kind than your- 
self, I have always been very liberal in my views.’ 


A WIJV^^VIJVG, WATJFAJRD WOMAJF. 


79 


^ Still, you cannot help being good, and yet yonrs 
is a nature to be misunderstood ; for society is slow to 
recognize frankness, and prone to censure without 
knowledge. You were allowed great margin in your 
childhood, and as a wife you were not as conventional 
as society demands a woman should he ; hut God, and 
those who know you best, would trust you under great 
temptation.’ 

“ I studied his character, I divined his heart, and 
made my life in accordance with his wishes. His 
God was my God, his Bible my Bible, his church my 
church, and under his influence my life was high and 
holy. He made his own rules governing our friend- 
ship and followed them to the letter, and I never 
knew an act of his that was open to criticism, or that 
could reflect upon his high type of manhood. 

“ I must confess that the electric spark fired my 
heart at first sight, and from that moment I loved 
him more, never less, to the end. Had I deliber- 
ately invoked the divine inspiration and calculated 
upon cause and effect, and had my affection grown 
according to inducements offered, it would not have 
been the true sentiment that, flashing over my soul 
and filling my whole being Avith pleasurable emo- 
tion, made the world bright and beautiful under its 
influence. 

‘‘ Earth knows no happier bond than wedded love, 


80 


A wmmm, wayward woman. 


but this boon has been denied me. I bave always 
been seeking the unattainable, and my unrealized 
hope teaches me to believe that in the hereafter kin- 
dred souls will be united, and the happiness denied 
them on earth will be realized in heaven. 


Chapter X. 

“Foe two years I drifted on the sea of content- 
ment. I did not talk of love — I possessed it ; and the 
atmosphere was native to my heart, producing tran- 
quil happiness. 

“Xo father was ever more devotedly kind than 
was Mr. Hamilton to me. Could he have died in the 
calm sunshine of those golden days, what a beautiful 
closing to a well-rounded life ! But storms arose, and 
that bright light went out in darkness, making me 
believe my love was a curse. I would have given my 
life to have spared him sorrow, but no sacrifice of 
mine could shield him. Mr. Hamilton became a 
victim of financial disaster, and when his ruin came 
men were prone to condemn ; for the world judges 
according to appearances, and too often its judgments 
are final. Xew York was astonished, and families 
not only shocked but ruined by his failure, for his 
credit was as good as the Bank of England. He was 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


81 


sagacious and careful in business affairs ; be bad 
weathered many financial storms without fear or ship- 
wreck ; but when the great financial crisis that fol- 
lowed the war came, the bubble of speculation burst 
in calamity which neither sagacity nor prudence 
could avert, and men were shorn of their wealth in 
an hour on that fatal day, so memorable in many 
lives, when rich men by the score became hopelessly 
ruined. Mr. Hamilton was the last to succumb on 
that black day. I went to his bank and offered all I 
possessed to help bridge over. He said : ‘ It is use- 
less ; I am ruined, but I must stand by the wreck 
while there is a plank left.’ I urged him to use my 
money. ^ Ho,’ he said, sadly, ‘ I am beyond human 
aid.’ I tried to persuade him that the fullest extent 
of disaster would prove only suspension ; but he was 
anxious and careworn, knowing that the case was hope- 
less ; and the truth aged him. He looked a very old 
man. 

The end came, and he was bankrupt beyond re- 
covery. His assignment included everything he pos- 
sessed. He had not only lost his own fortune, but 
his wife’s ; and fifty thousand dollars which a niece 
who lived with him had intrusted to him for invest- 
ment a few days before was irretrievably lost. She 
was badly advised, and in a frenzy of wrath at- 
tempted to institute criminal proceedings against her 


82 


A WmmWO, WATWABD WOMAN, 


uncle, in a vain endeavor to thus recover the lion’s 
share from the wreck. It was cold, cruel treachery on 
her part to thus cast reproach on this victim of adverse 
circumstances, who was in no way guilty of wrong. 

“ In the excitement of such a crisis, when men 
and women are frantic over real and imaginary losses, 
a man’s family should be loyal, to show by example 
that they believe in the integrity of the head of their 
house. God may forgive her ! — I never • did ; but 
that act of hers enabled me to prove the'' reality of 
my friendship for the man I loved, rich or poor, 
but whom I never loved so devotedly as on the day 
he was ruined. My love increased with his misfor- 
tunes, and there was no sacrifice I would not make to 
serve him. In this life, the shadow that fell upon his 
heart by that injustice was never lifted ; but in the 
hereafter there shall be light. In the crisis that met 
that grand old man there was no sin, and it is a con- 
solation to believe that in a higher world our motives 
are balanced against our acts, and faults of judg- 
ment only are not accounted sin. Some day all the 
shadows will be lifted; in the clear light of truth 
errors will be shown to have been naught but errors, 
and then will men and women who are wronged in 
this life be justified. 

“ The Monday following his failure of Friday I 
received a note by messenger from Mr. Hamilton, 


A WINNING, WAYWABD WOMAN 


83 


evidently written under great mental excitement. I 
asked no questions but went directly to the Everett 
House, where I found him under guard. ‘ What 
means this V I asked, excitedly. ‘ Who has sought to 
disgrace you f 

‘ My wife’s niece he said, brokenly. ^ I must 
give bail or go to the Tombs until it is shown I am 
not guilty.’ 

“ ‘ You are not guilty, nor will you go to prison to 
please that woman ; I will be your liberator.’ 

‘ But I cannot rob you to enrich her,’ he said, in 
jeply to my proposition to pay her and thus secure 
his release. ‘ I thank God, Amelie, for your faith 
in me ; your devotion almost compensates me for this 
supreme hour of sorrow,’ he added, brokenly, as he 
placed his arms around me; his eyes filling with 
tears that appealed to my heart more than any words 
ever uttered to me. 

“ ^ It is my right and duty to serve you, as you 
would have aided me under like conditions,’ I said, 
caressing his head fondly. 

“ ‘ Thank God, you have faith in me.’ 

“ ‘ Yes ; more than I have in God. Why has He 
permitted this when you have never wronged man or 
woman ? Ho man or woman shall brand you a 
criminal while I have a tongue to defend, or a penny 
to prove your innocence.’ 


84 


A TFIZViVOTG^, WATWABB WOMAJV. 


“ ‘ Yes, dear ; I know yon are brave and true. 
I am hopeless, lielpless, penniless, and a prisoner, 
and yours is the one true heart that has not forsaken 
me. As God is my judge, I have wronged no one in- 
tentionally. I did all in my j)ower to avert ruin. I 
have given my creditors all that I possess. Every- 
thing will be paid, and then they will know I am 
not guilty.’ 

‘ I know you are not guilty ; you are only crushed. 
You are just as good, noble, and true as you were 
before riches took their flight. I love you, rich or 
poor, and am proud to be the prisoner’s friend.’ 

‘‘ Our souls met in trouble as never before. I 
knelt by his side and took his hands in mine. The 
flesh is intelligent : that touch filled me with inspira- 
tion and decided my action. Wlien I told him my 
plan a quiver of pain ran through his frame, as he 
said, in a voice trembling with emotion : ‘‘ Blame 
Miss Grasper as much as you please, but spare my 
wife. She is not the instigator of this outrage, as 
some claim. She is too ill to be here. She has lost 
everything, and is nearly frantic. She is to be 
pitied more than blamed. Poor woman ! I wish she 
were provided for.’ 

“ ‘ She shall be, and it will give me inflnite 
pleasure to respond. I am equal to the emergency, 
and able to prove woman’s devotion in the hour of 


A WIIfmJSrG, WATWAED WOMAJST, 


85 


trial, for jour sake. But tell me : how much money 
is required to satisfy Miss Grasper ? ’ 

“ An actual groan escaped his lips, as he slowly 
said, ‘ Fifty thousand dollars — a great sum for you to 
pay, for no value received.’ 

“ ‘ It will be worth the price to give my opinion to 
that woman,’ I said, with a gay smile. 

“ ‘ Your courage makes me brave,’ he said, with a 
brighter face. 

“ ‘ It is guilt that makes cowards. You have no 
cause to fear.’ 

“ ‘ It is the bitterest pang of all to have this dis- 
grace published to the world, for it is so unjust, and 
there is such vitality in falsehood, when once given 
to the public.’ 

“ ‘ It shall not be published,’ I said, firmly ; ‘ trust 
me for silencing paper batteries. I will see every 
editor before the sun rises to-morrow, and give to 
each the true story. They will be just and generous.’ 

At that moment Mr. Stanwood entered, and after 
a few moments private conversation with Mr. Hamil- 
ton he said to me, can you afford to do this generous 
act? It is not necessary, for Mr. Hamilton is not 
guilty ; but it may prevent much publicity, and spare 
his feelings.’ 

“ ‘ I wish to do it, but on one condition. I am will- 
ing to place fifty thousand dollars in trust, providing 


86 


A wijmma, watwaud womam 


the niece will appropriate one-half for her aunt’s sup- 
port, and in the event of Mrs. Hamilton’s death, the 
principal can revert to Miss Grasper.’ 

“ ‘ You are generous and wise, and your condition 
shall he incorporated in the bond beyond question. 
Trust me to draw an agreement to provide for Mrs. 
Hamilton against human accidents. But you ought 
to consider the amount, independent of sentiment. 
Fifty thousand dollars is a large sum of money to 
advance without any hope of return.’ 

^ I ought not to permit this sacrifice,’ Mr. Hamil- 
ton said, faintly. ‘ There is no justice in it.’ 

“ A groan escaped his lips. ‘ He has fainted,’ I 
said, in alarm. ^ What is money in comparison with 
his life and liberty ? ’ 

“Heart failure was evident. We sent for a phy- 
sician, but a moment after he said, firmly, ^ I am not 
ill. It was only regret for the sacrifice, and a pain in 
my side.’ His lips quivered, but there were signs of 
returning courage in his eyes. He realized he was 
with friends. But the excitement was too much, and 
the reaction produced exhaustion. I begged him to 
have courage, and to take a new lease of life for my 
sake. 

“ ‘ My faith in you will make me strong,’ he said ; 
^ for I know in whom I trust.’ I kissed his eyes and 
lips again and again, begging him to smile to give 


I 


A wmmjsrcf, wayward woman. 


87 


me courage, and not to look so old to make me sad ; 
and then I said good-bye to the more hopeful prisoner. 

“ Before nine o’clock that evening he was free, his 
wife provided for for life, and the newspapers forti- 
fied with facts. Editors heard the story of his 
wrongs; and, sympathizing with the noble old man 
in his sorrows and disasters, each did him justice in 
reporting the episode. There are those who when a 
great calamity overtakes them are able to meet it 
unflinchingly, while there are others who make no 
effort, but accept the dead weight passively or sink 
under its burden. Mr. Hamilton was not equal to 
the great calamity that had fallen upon him. The 
shock was too great at his age, and it broke the main- 
spring of his life. He had never fought misfortune, 
and was not fitted by nature or endowed with forti- 
tude to meet new conditions under poverty. He 
seiemed blind and deaf to all criticism — was com- 
pletely unmanned. It could not be disguised that his 
heart was broken as completely as was ever poor 
human body on the wheel. People said much about 
Mr. Hamilton’s loss, and speculated more upon cause 
and effect. As a matter of course, Madame Gossip 
decorously pronounced her verdict when it was known 
that Mrs. Hamilton was to leave Hew York with 
her niece. She claimed to have the highest regard 
and esteem for her husband, and the sentiment was 


88 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


fully reciprocated. Eminently respectable people 
seldom give the public the benefit of their domestic 
affairs, employing such means in the adjustment of 
their financial troubles and domestic scandals as to 
conceal the modus o^erandi from the world. The 
Hamiltons were of this order. 

Mr. Hamilton remained at the hotel, and Mrs. 
Hamilton returned with her niece to her native State. 
Mr. Stanwood was the anchor upon whom they all 
relied. He stood between them and the world until 
the nine day’s wonder was succeeded by other broken 
hearts and blighted homes, crushed on the wheel of 
fortune, which in its constant rotation and never- 
ceasing changes is an engine of deadly execution. In 
all such cases there are the usual gradations of sym- 
pathy and chromatic words of consolation for the 
sudden transition from wealth to poverty : then the 
victims are forgotten. 

“ Mr. Hamilton was mentally and physically 
crushed, as well as financially ruined. Dr. Edmond 
proposed a trip to Europe, saying, ^ posssibly a change 
may save his reason.’ 

“ I decided to go with him, and take with us my 
two faithful servants, who had accompanied me in 
the old days. Mr. Stanwood aided me to make hasty 
preparations to embark for France with my invalid, 
who at times was very morbid and unreasonable. 


A WmmiiG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


89 


My love for Mr. Hamilton was so great tliat 
it was no sacrifice for me to give up my beautiful 
home and all its refined aj^pointments, to go out 
into the world, a wanderer. I had long loved 
him, and now I pitied him, and those sentiments 
make women wonderfully tender; besides, he was 
gentle and lovable, and his entire dependence upon 
me made him doubly dear. I had no interest in any- 
one but the magnet of my devotion, and my self- 
imposed penance did me good. My care for him 
absorbed my attention and satisfied my heart ; for 
my life was a constant exertion to please him and to 
invite forgetfulness. 

“ After traveling several months we located in the 
south of France, where he improved in health ; but 
the voluntary exile at times seemed a convict’s doom. 
He had neither health nor courage to carve out a new 
future, and old friends were painful reminders of 
his once happy past. This made it necessary for us 
to be with strangers. 

It became the study of my life to amuse him, and 
in our new life we found quiet happiness. He felt 
that his days were numbered, and was anxious to see 
me happily married before his death ; but my heart 
and judgment refused to echo his sentiments. 

“ Months revolved into years, but he never re- 
covered from the shock of his calamity, and his life 


90 


A wmmm, waywaed woman. 


of refined indulgence free from effort made depend- 
ence as fatal as financial disaster to one of his keen 
sensibilities. He seemed to forget everything but 
my kindness, and he often said : ‘ At my time of life 
I can have no hope of returning to business, and still 
less expectation to regain a fortune to repay you. 
This thought is a constant grief to me. It is a ter- 
rible thing for a man to be dependent upon a woman. 
It is so humiliating to manhood.’ 

“ ‘ It may he,’ I replied ; ‘ hut it seems very natural 
for a rich daughter to provide for a loved father ; for 
am I not your child of adoption ? ’ 

“ ‘ You are the child of my heart,’ he said, ten- 
derly. ‘ Your love is of more value than the fortune 
I lost. There are some persons to whom it is a hap- 
piness to be indebted, and you are one of them.’ 

“ December, the fatal month of my life, was now 
near at hand. A letter from Mr. Stanwood arrived, 
informing me of Mrs. Hamilton’s death. I was sur- 
prised to realize how shocked he was by this an- 
nouncement, for it had been expected for weeks. On 
the evening of that day he was taken seriously ill, 
and I felt the hour of destiny approaching. In many 
lives a crisis comes unlooked for, fraught with com- 
plications so unprecedented that we are not able to 
meet the test without severe shock, although we 
think we are schooled for any emergency. How well I 


A WmmJVG, WAFWABD WOMAJF. 


91 


remember tbe faltering step, the faded eye and trem- 
bling band of tbe grand old man as be came toward 
me with bis hand over his heart, and said : ^ Amelie, 
I am very ill ; send for the doctor.’ He sank upon 
the sofa, a dying man. A few anxious days and fever- 
ish nights followed. He often groaned aloud, more 
in anguish of spirit than actual pain. 

In speaking of home he said : ‘ Bury me in Green- 
wood ; let me sleep with my kindred in Hew York, 
the city of my birth, the field of my labor, success 
and failure. I have wronged no one, and in my own 
country, with my own people, I want to rest.’ 

“ This was his last request ; but his last words were, 
‘ Amelie, I love you.’ 

“ It was Hew Year’s Eve, and the church bells 
were ringing out their joyous peals into the clear, 
frosty air ; but they fell upon a mourning heart, to 
whom they only said : ‘ Over at last ! Over at last ! ’ 
The clanging Hew Year’s bells could not reach the 
deaf ears and cold heart of my dearest friend. The 
angel Death touched him with his cold wand, the 
noble, true heart ceased to beat, and a human soul 
passed out upon the sea of eternity, beyond the reach 
of longing eyes or the grasp of loving hands. 

‘‘ My grief and excitement during his illness 
changed to desperate calmness, which was not natural 
and could not last ; but it gave me feverish energy 


92 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


for the long, silent journey to America with my 
sacred charge and my sad memories. When all was 
over and the prayer had been said, it was my own hand 
that closed and fastened the casket, that my eyes 
might catch the last earthly look of the beloved face, 
so handsome in death. I kissed the cold lips and 
dear, dead eyes, and from my heart I said : 

“ ‘ Farewell, oh! my dearest loved one; 

All my heart is buried with you: 

All my thoughts go onward with you. 

Come not back to care or sorrow; 

Come not back again to suffer, 

Where the sickness and the weakness 
Wears the heart and wastes the body. 

Soon my task will be completed. 

Soon your footsteps I shall follow 
To the Island of the Blessed, 

To the Land of the Hereafter.* 

“When Walter died my heart was strong in self- 
reliance. Such an affliction as his death is the test 
of a woman’s character. It shows whether sorrow 
will elevate or harden her nature, and cause her to 
resume her life embittered against God, for the 
happiness she is parted from. In a time of sorrow 
the teachings of childhood, whether for good or evil, 
come to the surface. Walter’s death, followed so 
quickly by little Amelie’s, brought out all the latent 
goodness of my nature ; Mr. Hamilton’s death crushed 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


93 


me. My nature was weak ; but all natures, whether 
weak or strong, if they have capacity for loving and 
suffering, are shattered for a time by the death of a 
loved one; the world will seem different, and life will 
lose its charm. It is in such midnight darkness of 
the soul that convent homes are sought — more from 
the stress of sorrow than from love of God; but 
this- proves how quickly we turn to God when our 
eyes are blinded with tears. 

“ My heart seemed frozen, and not until I was on 
the homeward-bound steamer did this unnatural calm- 
ness make way for a natural burst of grief. At last 
the needed tears came, only the more bitter that 
they came so late. On the broad Atlantic, between 
two worlds, I turned the leaves of memory, and each 
entry in my ledger of life bore a blot of bitterness. 

“ Mr. Stan wood met me as had been arranged, and 
due honor was paid to the memory of one beloved 
and kindly remembered, although crushed by sor- 
row and dying in exile in a foreign land. He sleeps 
well in Greenwood. 

My two servants, who had married years before, 
decided, upon my advice, to make a new home in 
the remote West. I wanted to be alone with my grief, 
and separate myself from the past. I remained at 
the Everett House, a recluse, with memory my only 
companion. Such vigils as I kept God alone can 


94 


A wmmm, waywabd womaw. 


know. They wear the heart and body more than a 
fatal malady. Long weary days would close in loneli- 
ness, and nights follow, when tlie past was only a 
feverish dream ; then another awakening to a mo- 
notonous life, without sunshine — only shadows. I 
was desolate and stupefied during those days of sor- 
row. There was deep bitterness in the retrospection, 
for no gratitude remained in my heart for the bless- 
ings granted me, and regret that crushed the soul 
settled upon me. I was weary of the battle. Love, 
as I had understood it and suffered by it, was giving 
all and counting all given as naught. My life had 
been a failure, and longer life meant nothing but 
unhappiness. 

‘‘ It was not grief that pressed upon my heart so 
morbidly, for I was passively reconciled to Mr. 
Hamilton’s death, and would not have called him 
back could I have done so ; yet, his life was the last 
link in the cable that bound me to earth, his love 
the romance of my heart, and in his death every 
joy or sorrow was forgotten. My great desire was 
to go to him, and with calm deliberation I made 
plans to make woman’s will God’s will. I instructed 
Mr. Stanwood to convert my real estate and other 
securities into United States bonds and place in the 
Bank of Safety, subject to my order. My plan was 
to return to the convent and find refuge under the 


A wmmm, wayward woman. 


95 


shadow of the Cross, in the hope that death would 
come to me naturally during the closing month of 
the dying year; if not, I would enter the eternal 
year through my own will, and leave my property 
to the Church in memory of my mother, to atone for 
the -deed. 

“The day before the one appointed for me to go to 
the convent was another day of fatality in my life, 
hfew warp and woof of a different texture was woven 
into the web by the inexorable hand of Fate. Those 
that I had loved, that had influenced my life to 
the highest degree, were of flne texture, but a thread 
of coarser flbre was interwoven by the Great Weaver. 
Yet the broken threads of the old life were not 
united with the new life by love, but by destiny, 
over which human will has little control ; but I was 
saved from myself, and we are brought to believe, 
‘ What God doeth, is well done.’ 


Chaptek XI. 

“ Mr. Stanwood arranged my affairs to my satisfac- 
tion, but not to his own. 

“ ‘ I never approve of placing a fortune in one 
bank,’ said he. T have seen too many crashes to invite 
confldence in that style of banking. Procure a small 


96 


A WmmJVG, WATWABD WOJfAA^. 


i 


safe; keep your bonds and jewels with you at tlie 
convent, and invest tbe interest accruing from your 
various securities in tbe Bank of Safety until you de- 
cide definitely as to your future. I have done all 
in my power to guard you against further disaster.’ 

I followed his advice, and had made every 
arrangement to go to the convent. He called to say 
good-bye the day before he, with his family, left for 
an extended tour in Europe. Just after he left me a 
card was brought to me on which was engraved the 
name of Henry Warden. My surprise at seeing that 
name was great, and, actuated by curiosity, I granted an 
interview. I had no knowledge of Colonel Warden’s 
family, and could not place the relationship ; but my 
visitor did that for himself in an original manner. 

“ ‘ I am delighted to make your acquaintance,’ he 
said, ‘ for I am a nephew of my uncle ; I am, in fact, 
Henry Warden. I heard of you through your old 
servant, Henry Wood, and if what he told me is true, 
you are the kind of kinswoman I wish to cultivate, 
never to lose sight of. He tells me that you are 
rich and generous, and I am a great admirer of 
those qualities.’ 

“ He was an attractive man, of good manners and 
education, but very odd and original in his style of 
conversation. He was neither old nor young, nor 
was he handsome. His sunburned complexion and 


A WIWmWG, WAYWABD WOMAJY. 


97 


heavy eyebrows were striking, revealing gray eyes, 
self-reliant and a little severe, except when lighted 
np by a pleasing smile. He was a powerfully built, 
grandly-formed man. He wore plain business clothes, 
but something in the bearing of his stalwart figure 
attracted me to him. 

“ ‘ Your frankness is charming. Possibly you will 
find no difficulty in cultivating my acquaintance; 
but what is your profession ? ’ I asked. 

‘An adventurer,’ he replied, with a smile ; ‘ ready 
to enter into any speculation, from a gold mine to mat- 
rimony, at a moment’s notice if it offers sufficient 
inducements.’ 

“ ‘ Have you found a fortune in the West as a re- 
sult of your adventures ? ’ 

“ ‘ Ho ; I have come East to find my good luck. I 
have had expectations without results. I am looked 
upon as a man of great intentions but few achieve- 
ments. The truth is, I am greatly down on my luck 
just at present ; but now that I have found my long- 
lost aunt I may reasonably hope to better my con- 
dition.’ 

“ ‘ Are you in easy circumstances ? ’ 

‘“Yery. I am burdened with neither wife, chil- 
dren, nor business.’ 

“ ‘ Did you ever possess a wife ? ’ 

“ ‘ I have made several wild-cat speculations in that 


98 


A WINJVmG, WATWAW WOMAJV. 


direction, but liaye never entered into legal bonds 
“ until death do us part.’’ It is circumstance, not 
death, that separates men and women who believe in 
left-hand marriages.’ 

“ ‘ Are you engaged in any enterprise at present ? ’ 
I asked. 

• ‘ Yes ; the laudable one of making your acquaint- 

ance, with the well-grounded hope that I will make a 
good impression.’ 

“ ‘ Yes, yes ; but I mean, are you in any busi- 
ness ? ’ 

“ ^ No, I am like Micawber. I am waiting for 
something to turn up.’ 

‘ Have you an income ? ’ 

“ ‘ Yes ; to-day I left my watch with my uncle. 
He made me an advance of one hundred dollars.’ 

“ ‘ Have you an uncle in the city ? ’ I asked, in 
surprise. 

‘‘ ‘ Hot by blood or affection,’ he said, with a laugh, 
‘ but a financial relative — Uncle Israel Solomon, deal- 
er in collateral securities. I always keep a little stock 
of that kind on hand in case of emergency. To a 
man of my comprehensive views money, or its equiv- 
alent, is his best friend.’ 

“ This style of conversation was novel to me. He 
found me credulous, and gratified my curiosity. I 
was amused, for all he said was half in fun, half in 


A WINNING, WAYWABD WOMAN 


99 


earnest, yet colored with an assurance of truth that 
made him an enigma which I determined to solve. 
He had vivacity, and a certain fascination of manner 
which was more magnetic than his face or figure. 
He interested me in his Western experiences and the 
various phases through which he had passed, and 
gave details of Wood’s adventures in such a quaint, 
amusing manner that I found myself laughing with 
real pleasure. 

“ ^ Will you have a glass of wine ? ’ I asked. ' 

“ ‘ Ho, Aunt Amelie, but I will have a bottle. 
What is a glass of wine to a man of my presence? ’ 
he said, with a gesture of importance. 

“ ‘ I hope amid all your adventures you do not 
drink immoderately ? ’ 

“ ‘ Ho ; only for the stomach’s sake. My philosophy 
has taught me that the stomach is the seat of the soul, 
hence a little inspiration is essential, upon the theory 
that wine sharpens the wit ; and as I live by my wits, 
liquid refreshments of a stimulating kind are neces- 
sary to secure success. Accordingly, I brace up for 
duty, but with moderation. Will you have nourish- 
ment with me ? ’ 

“ ^ Ho ; but will you take supper with me ? ’ 

‘ I intended to do myself that pleasure. You 
shall have no cause to complain of my declining any 
courtesies offered me.’ 


100 


A WIWmJ^G, WAYWABD WOMAN. 


“ ‘ But this will be our only supper. I have ar- 
ranged to enter a convent to-morrow, for life.’ 

‘ Wood told me you contemplated a living death 
of that nature. His information made me hasten 
here, confident that after once knowing me, it 
would be impossible for you to renounce the world, 
the fiesh and the devil. Ho, Aunt Amelie; as a 
Christian woman, your mission is to reclaim me from 
error. I hope you will see your duty plain.’ 

‘ My duty and inclination lead me to seek refuge 
in a convent. I have no one to live for. Who cares 
for my friendship ? ’ 

“ ‘ Look at me ! Am I not more desirable than a 
priest? If you become a sister I must become a 
brother, for I intend to follow your fortunes. I have 
no ambition to take orders. A poke bonnet will no 
more make you a nun than a cowl will make me a 
priest. You need excitement instead of religion of 
the new convent order, that begins and ends with 
sorrow, unless disgrace is the Alpha and Omega of 
action. I charge you,’ he said, solemnly, ‘ as a man 
of the world, to beware of self-deception and re- 
ligious infatuation. You are no more fitted for the 
angelic life than I am. We had better not embrace 
asceticism, but if you feel called upon to be a sister 
of charity make me the specific object of your good 
works, and you will realize some compensation, and 


A WIJSrmWG, WAYWARD WOMAW. 


101 


lots of amusement. Wliat yon need is operas, theatres, 
drives in the park. Such moral excitement in the 
society of your nephew will prove a diversion. Uncle 
Henry was a dry ‘old stick. You couldn’t extract 
excitement out of him ; and the other old fossil, as 
near as I can learn, was defunct of wind, brain, and 
muscle, and was more trouble than pleasure. You 
have had enough of superannuated enjoyments and 
death-bed excitements, and a change of blessings will 
do you good. In me you have a golden opportunity 
for a new deal. I may be the trump card. It is your 
moral, mental and physical duty to try a new game, 
just for luck. What kind of an old fogy was Uncle 
Henry ? He must have been mighty mean to leave 
me nothing ; not even enough to keep his memory 
green, or to pay for my prayers.’ 

^ I am his almoner ; how much do you ask for 
prayers ? ’ 

“ ^ I never take a hand in that game for less than 
one hundred dollars a corner. As a matter of business 
I am ready to pray for the repose of his soul if you 
will honor the chips.’ 

“‘Yery well; and to make your prayers more 
effectual I will give you my check for five hundred 
dollars in advance per month.’ 

^ I will remember the old man with religious 
fervor, and continue in the occupation at the same 


102 


A wijsrmm, waywabd womajy. 


rate until you say enough. By Jove ! it is a great 
scheme. Would you like to have me pray “ Old 
Ham” out on the same terms after I get through with 
number one ? ’ 

“ ‘ He is beyond the reach of your prayers/ I said, 
with a sigh, as I recalled the one whom I loved and 
regretted. 

“ I did not go to the convent. Henry’s protest 
was unique and emphatic, his theory plausible, his 
argument against the step interesting. He never 
attempted to win my favor through flattery. He 
said his greatest desire and chief object in life were to 
serve me so faithfully that he would become a neces- 
sity to me. He accepted money with ^ thanks,’ but 
neither of us referred to the commodity. Once he 
said, with a laugh, ‘ I have reached the zenith of my 
ambition — to amuse a rich woman, one able to pay for 
the enjoyment.’ 

“ Henry Warden was, in a sense, a character to 
study. He made himself appear much worse than he 
was, and took delight in using extravagant expres- 
sions to do himself injury. As an excuse he once 
said : ‘ I have to reduce my stock in trade below par, 
in order not to be too eagerly sought by those who 
would trade on my ability for adaptation to circum- 
stances.’ He had no disposition to engage in busi- 


A WIJVJVmG, WAYWAI^D WOMAJVl 


103 


ness, for lie was indolent by nature and practice, and 
whenever I tried to arouse liis ambition he would 
say : ‘ Aunt Amelie, don’t waste your ammunition on 
my ambition.’ He visited me constantly, and with 
every visit related some new adventure or love epi- 
sode in his characteristic style ; and while they were 
not always creditable they were always amusing. I 
began to depend upon him, for he accompanied me 
to places of interest, and in his fresh, original ideas 
of men and things my sorrows grew dim. He was 
an active principle ; he braced me up with invigorat- 
ing thoughts ; he did me good, for he made me for- 
get. Yet there was not the slightest sentiment ap- 
proximating love between us. We were a mutual 
aid, without one desire to incorporate the disturbing 
element into our lives. 

“ ^ How would you like to make me Mrs. Warden’s 
husband ? ’ he asked, one evening. ‘ I fancy it would 
be a good investment for both. You will expect 
nothing from me ; you will not be disappointed. I 
will expect much from you, and will realize. As a hus- 
band I will be less expensive than as a nephew, and, 
honestly, I have nonobjection to the partnership ; we 
can make joint stock of the Warden estate. Which 
is it, yes or no ? I hear no protest,’ he said, before I 
could answer. 

“ ‘ Are you in earnest ? ’ I asked. 


104 


A WIJVmWG, WATWAI^D WOMAJV^. 


^ Never more earnest in mj life. I have been 
thinking of it for a month, but I didn’t want to take 
advantage of innocence. I have been waiting for 
you to make some sign, for a man hates to play his 
trump card and get left through mistake.’ 

“^But, Harry, is there no woman with a prior 
claim ? ’ 

“ ^ Not by legal right, so far as I am aware ; but 
the truth is, it is very hard for the average man to 
say positively whether he is married or not. I claim 
the benefit of the doubt ; I have had an experience, 
but I escaped matrimony. The common law of mar- 
riage is so elastic that an ordinary man can hardly 
define his legal status. There was a woman years ago 
who claimed to be my wife, but I declined the honor. 
I was in no condition financially to honor her claim, 
and the responsibility was too great. A man has to 
be cautious in affairs of that nature, for such doubtful 
cases invite litigation. I avoid law as much as possi- 
ble, for a man may be compromised ; besides, it is 
expensive, and not always satisfactory. The woman 
was too ambitious, and I checkmated her game and 
left the country.’ 

“ ^ Then there is no woman to whom you are 
legally or in honor bound ? ’ 

“ ‘ Absolutely none. Had I been rich she would 
have bound herself to me ; but did you ever know a 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


105 


woman of easy virtue to follow the fortunes of a 
poor man ? ’ 

“ ‘ I am glad you have told me the truth. I will 
accept it.’ 

“ ‘ I had rather you would accept me, for time will 
prove the statement. As a. rule, I never regard truth 
when talking with a woman ; she hates truth, hut 
admires a diplomatic liar above all men.’ 

“ ‘ Tell me of a diplomatic liar. I have never met one.’ 

“ ‘ Look at me, then. A diplomatic liar is one who 
professes love when it does not exist, or even the raw 
material to create inspiration. But I have made no 
professions to you beyond what actually exist, and the 
prospect is, we shall be happy ; for under your mag- 
netic influence and bank-account attraction I will 
become domesticated, and in our new life we will 
have much to hope and little to fear.’ 

“ That night I called to see Doctor H., to tell him 
of my intentions. ^ Modern marriage,’ said he, ^ is a 
solemn change in the life of any woman, and should 
be entered into with consideration and reflection, 
based on reason. In my opinion, you will make a 
mistake to make a second marriage. I know the 
earnest efforts Mr. Stanwood has made to secure your 
property in a judicious manner against human acci- 
dents; for a strange fatality seems to attend the 
Warden estate.’ 


106 


A WlJVWma, WAYWABD WOMAJV. 


“ ^ My hope does not lead me to expect any great 
happiness will result from this venture ; hut there is 
just sentiment enough in the romance to make it 
interesting as a study ; besides, there is gratification 
in the knowledge that the "Warden money will at last 
be a benefit to a Warden.’ 

“ ‘ There is equity in that remark,’ he said, with a 
smile. 

“ The only comment Harry made upon the subject 
was characteristic. ‘ I don’t wonder the old man in- 
vested in you. Any woman who can grasp the situa- 
tion with such pluck is a heroine after my own heart.’ 

“ The next morning we were married at Dr. H.’s 
residence. I chose a clergyman whom I loved and 
respected in memory of the past. 


Chapter XII. 

“ Harry gave me no trouble in his new relation, 
for he was ever ready to respond to my slightest 
wish, and was like a child in dependence. He filled 
my life with occupation, and out of darkness came 
light. For two years I knew every day of his life, 
and as much of his past as he pleased to detail. I 
turned no backward page for his scrutiny, for he 
evinced very little interest except in the living pres- 


A wmJVmG, WATWAUD WOMAJV. 


107 


ent. Sometimes he would ask a question about ‘ the 
dear old gentleman,’ as he termed his uncle, or ^ Old 
Ham,’ as he called Mr, Hamilton. But he never 
spoke of Walter. Evidently he knew nothing of that 
closed chapter of my heart history. 

“ Mr. Stanwood did not approve of my marriage. 
He said, without hesitation : ^ Had I been at home I 
should have prevented the marriage. I should have 
advised you to make Warden your heir, but not your 
husband.’ 

“ I asked his reasons but he declined to give them, 
simply saying, they are purely legal.’ 

“ At that period a marked change became notice- 
able in Harry. The old cheerful manner was a 
memory ; he was moody and pre-occupied, and 
showed no desire to leave the hotel. I insisted upon 
his telling me the cause of his apparent fear, or if he 
had trouble of any nature to tell me frankly, so that 
I could act with intelligence in applying the 
remedy. 

‘^‘You know there are birds of prey, known as 
blackmailers, in every walk of life, who seek to de- 
stroy domestic happiness by threatening exposure to 
ruin a man’s respectability, whether of the genuine 
order or assumed. One of these scarlet women is on 
my track, and as true as there is a heaven she will 
write a new chapter in my life, or close the history.’ 


108 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


“ ^ Is retributive justice following you as an aven- 
ger ? ’ I asked. 

^ I never beard ber called by that respectable 
name,’ be said, with a laugb ; ‘ but there is a woman 
on my track, supporting ber claim with a pistol, and 
sbe will level on me at sight, as true as there is a 
God.’ 

“ ‘ Has she a marriage certificate as an argument ? ’ 
I asked. 

“ ‘ Ho ; but unless sbe gets money, what is my life 
worth ? ’ be asked, logically ; ‘ for sbe claims sbe has 
been wronged, and you know a woman led on by that 
delusion is a terrible possibility.’ 

“ ^ Give me the plain facts ; for, judging from 
what you have said, this is a demand not to be tem- 
porized, but to be met with courage, or disposed of 
through compromise.’ 

“ ‘ There will be no compromise in this case ; she 
isn’t that kind.’ 

‘‘ ^ I presume she is poor and desperate. When did 
she make her demand for money ? ’ 

“ ^ About a month ago, and she shadows me con- 
stantly. Yesterday she wrote me to pay her price or 
accept the penalty.’ 

a « What is her price ? ’ 

“ ‘ You must not talk money in this case. She must 
be frightened.’ 


A WnmWG, WATWABD WOMAJV. 


109 


“‘Such women don’t frighten, Harry. They 
have lost all, and risk recklessly the chances of life 
and death. You must remember that an enraged, 
discarded woman is a tremendous fact in establishing 
her claims. Tell me the true story, and let me be her 
judge.’ 

“ ‘ I have told you much fiction,’ he said, with a 
smile; ‘but this is the truth. My father, the 
younger brother of IJncle Henry, went to California 
when the gold fever was at its height. He was both 
fortunate and unfortunate ; still, at the time of his 
death he left me a large property, but I lost it in the 
whirlpool that has sunk so many fortunes. I was his 
only child, and as Uncle Henry was regarded a con- 
firmed bachelor, I had reasonable hopes that he would 
make me his heir. With this expectation I came to 
Hew York, and under these favorable conditions 
abandoned gambling, and was, in fact, an eminently 
respectable man. I had an appointment in the Cus- 
tom House as inspector, wdth a salary sufiiciently large 
to live like a gentleman ; besides. Uncle Henry was 
very generous. I was unmarried, consequently was 
liable to fioat around town a little promiscuously, just 
for variety. I owed allegiance to no one, and was 
loyal to my own pleasure. One day there hove into 
port, on a European steamer, an earnest kind of a 
woman, very much exercised about her baggage ; and 


110 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


as slie was without a protector, I offered, as Inspector, 
to assist her. She was an appreciative woman, and 
pressed her thanks upon me in an effusive manner, 
and poured forth a volume of personal history. She 
was a foundling, with neither home or friends await- 
ing her advent, and desired me to take her to a re- 
spectable hotel. As I was hoarding in such a home 
as she desired, I recommended my own. I suggested 
she should be my guest until she effected some per- 
manent plan for her future. The result was, she 
rather liked me as a host ; for I made her comfortable 
on general principles upon short acquaintance. In 
an interesting way she told me her alleged history. 
She claimed to he a Creole, of respectable birth, and 
that her father, who was wealthy, lost his property 
during the war. She came north in company with 
General Blank, and afterwards went to Europe in 
some capacity, with a southern family, but quarrelled 
with the wife on account of the husband, and in con- 
sequence reached Hew York without money, friends, 
or any fixed plan for action. At first she was very 
modest in her demands, but she soon discovered I was 
a weak sort of a fellow, and became an expensive 
luxury, which I soon felt anxious to dispose of with- 
out sacrifice. She did not improve upon acquaint- 
ance, but developed about a half and half sort of a 
person ; not a great saint or a great sinner. She knew 


A wijvjvma, wArwABB womajv^ 


111 


I desired a change, and woman-like, became aggres- 
sive ; and to increase the complications she proved a 
constitutional liar, not to he believed under oath. 
One evening she informed me her father had reached 
the north like a wandering refugee, and was seriously 
ill in Rochester, where she desired to go at once. I 
had never heard that the old man was living, hut was 
very glad he had materialized just at that time, and I 
urged her to go to Rochester and remain with her 
long-lost father. She acceded to the proposition, 
upon condition she could have $1,000 in hand to pro- 
vide for her honored sire. Uncle Henry helped me 
out, and she left me not inconsolable. I never 
wished or intended to see her again, but unfortunately 
my official address was known, and her letters could 
find me out. After some weeks of passive tranquillity 
on her part, she wrote me her father was really very 
ill, in a small village near Rochester, without ac- 
quaintance or kinsman, and begged me to come to 
her in her sorrow. She said : “ Serve me this time, 
and I will never ask another favor, but will return to 
my home in the south, and redeem my past by an 
honorable future.” 

“ ‘ I believed she was in earnest, and felt sorry for 
her in real trouble, and I therefore decided to go 
and do anything I could to give the old man a good 
send-offi 


112 A WmmJYO, WAYWARD WOMAN. 

“ ‘ She met me at the station, and in her impulsive 
waj said : “You may not like the role you are to 
play, but I have told the landlady with whom we are 
staying that you are my husband ; so you must make 
my story apparently good, for it will give a more re- 
spectable appearance to us all ; besides, no one knows 
us, or will care about our social affairs so long as the 
bills are paid.’’ 

“ ‘ I never for a moment dreamed “ a job had been 
put up.” I knew it was a little complicated, but not 
being of an inqusitive turn of mind I allowed affairs 
to revolve at leisure and pleasure, without effort on 
my part to become interested in results. 

“ ^ Two days after my arrival the old man passed in 
his chips.” He actually died, and with becoming 
dignity I acted the part of son-in-law, paid the bills, 
smiled at the episode, and returned to Hew York 
alone, after seeing the bereaved daughter safely 
started for Hew Orleans, with all her wants well 
supplied. 

“ ‘ Hot long afterwards I received a surprise in the 
shape of a bill for goods purchased by “ Mrs. Henry 
"Warden.” I informed the collector I had no wife, and, 
of course, refused payment. That night she came to 
my hotel, and high-tragedy was on the bill, but I was 
equal to the occasion. In the battle of words she 
won, but in deeds I was victor ; but she made it so 


A WINNING, WATWABD WOMAN 


113 


hot for me at the Custom House that I tendered my 
resignation, and took good care for her to know I 
was a poor man, without expectations. She realized 
the situation, and had no use for me. I went to 
Texas, where I became quite rich through a wool 
speculation, and subsequently returned to Hew York. 
She was out of my life, for I never cared a rap for 
her, and I supposed she had provided herself with a 
substitute ; but somehow she was made aware of my 
return and improved financial status and she went for 
me as her husband, and, by Jove ! by the common 
law she held me upon the evidence that I called her 
wife, or rather, that she had passed me off as husband 
in Western Hew York, when I acted the role of chief 
mourner at the old man’s funeral ; who, by the way, 
was not her father at all. 

‘ That fact was a corker, even to Stan wood, whom 
I consulted through advice of Uncle Henry, and the 
case had to go to trial.’ 

‘ But, Henry,’ I said, interrupting him, ^ you are 
drawing on your imagination. The old Scotch law 
is not extant in Hew York. Just calling a woman 
your wife cannot make her so.’ 

“ ‘ Yes ; it does in Hew York, and I am not the 
only fellow that has been caught under that delusion. 
The court decided that because I had called her wife 
before witnesses, her claim was legal ; but Stanwood 


114 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


sliowed up the conspiracy, and a divorce was im- 
mediately granted. I have kept evidence of the 
whole transaction, for it is more like romance than 
reality.’ 

“ ‘ In England, marriage is not valid unless per- 
formed in accordance with certain prescribed forms. 
There a priest or a magistrate is an indispensable wit- 
ness of a marriage ceremony.’ 

‘‘ ‘ That may be required in England,’ he replied ; 
^but all that is necessary in New York is for a man 
and woman with marriage intent, to realize consumma- 
tion. Two people may make a contract when no one 
else is present, and either one of the parties is a com- 
petent witness of the transaction, or if a man calls a 
woman his wife, or records her as his wife, or appears 
at a funeral as chief mourner for an alleged father-in- 
law, tlie woman can claim him as husband, although 
no formal contract or ceremony attends the transac- 
tion. I speak with authority, for I know how it is 
myself. The woman was smart, but she was badly 
advised, to get me on funeral duty. The judge was 
a comprehensive man, but she failed to make it 
reasonably plain that I was bound to support her 
child, for I proved beyond question that she had 
adopted it, as she did her father, to aid in her con- 
spiracy to extort money. She gave up all pretensions, 
and I never expected to see her again ; but she has 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


115 


discovered I am tlie husband of a rich woman, and 
she is on the war-path. About a month ago she met 
me on Broadway, and since then she shadows me con- 
stantly. Yesterday she threatened to see you. I 
told her you wouldn’t care a rap for her expose ; but 
I will make her feel,” was the revengeful reply. 
To-day I received a note demanding money. 

“ ^ I fear a woman of her type ; for a pistol in a 
woman’s hand is an emphatic argument, and makes 
men active rather than passive in defending them- 
selves. I deprecate her style of argument ; but fear 
often supplements the moral sense and makes men 
more honorable, even if human nature is the same.’ 

“ ^ I think the case should be settled with money. 
'Where does she live ? ’ 

“ ‘ The world is her home ; but you must not see 
her. Don’t attempt to compromise, for there will be 
no end of complications. Give and get, must be the 
basis. She is a blackmailer, quite respectable in ap- 
pearance, and will, no doubt, impress upon your im- 
pressionable heart that she has been wronged; but 
don’t be credulous, for she talks like a book, and has 
the art of deceiving the very elect.’ 

“That night I received a note from her, after 
this style : ‘ I am tlie wife of the man you call hus- 
band. I am without name or country through his 
betrayal. I am a repudiated wife, with neither father 


116 


A WmNmG, WATWABD WOMAJV. 


nor brother to defend my riglits ; but God has given 
me courage to avenge my wrong, and I will be my 
own defender. I do not plead poverty to win favor, 
but I am too poor to live, too poor to die, yet not too 
weak to remember my wrongs. It is true the law de- 
cided against my claim, but there is a higher law, and 
unless Henry Warden provides for me and my child 
I will take vengeance into my own hands.’ 

“ I sent a note to her address with three hundred 
dollars enclosed, saying, ‘I will either see you or 
write again before the first of the month.’ 

I told Harry how I was temporizing in order to 
arrange a speedy exodus to Europe to insure his 
safety. 

‘ Money is her object,’ he said, ‘ and no . small 
amount will pacify her. It is wise to put the Atlantic 
between us, for she has an infernal temper, and if 
she fails in her expectations she will shoot me at 
sight.’ 

The bohemian of his nature was aroused in view 
of decided change, and asserted itself in active prep- 
arations. We made every arrangement with celerity, 
and made no signs of our plans. 

‘ Is there anything more ta do ? ’ Harry asked, 
the evening before our intended departure. 

“ ‘ Ho ; everything is ready. Your work is done.’ 

“ ‘ Then I think I will take one last look at Broad- 


A wijmma, watwabb womajv. 


117 


way by gaslight ; for it may be for years, and it may 
be forever.’ 

“ ^ Come back soon,’ I replied, ^ for I am anxious 
when you are out of my sight.’ 

“ ^ You have not had great cause for anxiety,’ he 
said, with a smile, ‘ for I am your shadow.’ 

• •••••• 

“ Two hours later Harry was brought back to me 
dead. The verdict rendered was, ‘ shot by some one 
unknown.’ 

“ I made no effort to convict the avenger who took 
justice into her own hand, and his life without 
mercy. There was, of course, no proof ; but I was 
morally certain that the woman made sure of her vic- 
tim’s movements, and carried out her threat. She 
may have called it retribution ; God called it murder. 

“ A few days later, and another uncle and nephew 
slept side by side in Greenwood, the city of the dead. 


Chapter XIII. 

After Harry’s death I felt a desire to return to 
Europe. Hew York had no charms for me, and I 
longed to become a wanderer. A lady applied to me 
to employ a young girl whom she knew to be honest 
and faithful, as a maid. Ellen Monroe was a nice 


118 


A WIWmJSrG, WAYWARD WOMAN, 


looking, modest-a23pearing girl, with references that 
met my approval, and her devotion made me, feel 
that I was extremely fortunate in the selection. A 
few days before the time appointed for me to leave 
for Europe, I visited Greenwood to see, personally, 
the head-stone I had ordered for Harry. Upon my 
return to the hotel my maid was , missing. She , had 
robbed my safe of every valuable it contained. She 
knew where I kept my keys, and no doubt acted with 
an accomplice who was an expert. The robbery was 
reported at once, and every effort made to recover the 
property; but the work was well done, and to my 
mind the evidence was almost conclusive that the 
girl was the daughter of the woman who killed 
Harry, sent to me for the express purpose of effect- 
ing the robbery in collusion with her mother. 

“ Another fortune had taken wings, soon after fol- 
lowed by the suspension of Robin, Crook & Co., the 
great bankers, which precipitated failures second 
only to the crash in which Mr. Hamilton was ruined. 
This stroke of misfortune swept away the Warden 
estate. I had a few valuables and an expensive ward- 
robe, but the property was lost beyond redemption. 
The hardest feature of my changed fortune was to 
confess to Mr. Stanwood the full extent of the disas- 
ter; but the truth had to be met. I went to his 
office, and between client and counsel there was no 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 119 

disguise. He was kind, but showed impatience at 
mj supine weakness ; nor did he fail to remind me 
that I had neither followed his advice nor observed 
his instructions. He overlooked all my papers and 
accounts, and was of the opinion that a dividend 
would be declared in due process of time- by the 
assignees of Robin, Crook & Co. He warmly assured 
me of his interest and desire to serve me faithfully 
without hope of reward. H have managed your 
affairs to the best of my ability; but experience 
teaches me that when a woman stands at the helm the 
ship is in constant danger. My relations have been 
of a profitable nature in the Warden, Douglass and 
Hamilton estates, and it is my pleasure to aid one 
who has been dear to my clients. You will find one 
hundred dollars the first of each month to your credit.’ 

“ Mr. Stan wood’s previous knowledge made him a 
good adviser, and gave me assurance he would not 
misunderstand me. He had penetration of character 
to appreciate my confidence; he was a lawyer to 
recognize the difference between a feeling and an 
opinion. Still, I realized that while a rich widow is 
eagerly patronized, a poor widow is not eagerly 
sought. But Mr. Stanwood was great and good 
enough to have me accept his patronage without 
humiliation to my pride. He was a man of family, 
of high social position, his friendship a boon to any 


120 


A ir/iV'iVTiV'G^, WAYWABI) WOMAJY. 


ladj, but a . great benefaction to me. On the first 
day of each montli a messenger from bis office 
brought me one hundred dollars. I saved every dol- 
lar possible, and worked with feverish energy to in- 
crease my income, for I had a premonition that the 
lull in the storm of adversity was only temporary. I 
obtained board in a quiet private family for thirty 
dollars per month. They knew I was a widow under 
financial reverses, and made me very comfortable. I 
realized considerable money from making lace, and 
much happiness in the occupation. Energy and will 
are powerful weapons in conquering misfortune, and 
it is surprising how little money is required for com- 
fort when judiciously expended. Economy was a 
new feature in my life, and it proved a motive power 
for action ; besides, the sense of security from Mr. 
Stanwood’s kindness made me ten years younger, and 
strange as it may seem, true happiness marked this 
uneventful chapter of my life, filled as it was with 
work, and provided for by economy. I was resigned 
to results, and free from care, anxiety or love. My 
heart rested, and the only society I had was found in 
myself ; yet I never felt a sense of loneliness, for the 
happiness. of everyone depends more on the state of 
mind than external circumstances. 

“ I attended Dr. H.’s church every Sunday, regard- 
less of weather, to think over my past in that Church 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


121 


of Memories. Each Sunday I received a how of 
recognition from Mr. Stanwood, making memory and 
gratitude run parallel. One Sunday I missed him; 
the next Sunday he was in eternity. He was ill 
from cold, but no symptom indicated danger, or ex- 
cited apprehension until the day before his death ; 
when pneumonia, the fatal enemy of Hew Yorkers, 
set in and death resulted. But he was thoughtful of 
his clients’ interests to the end. Mrs. Stanwood told 
me he spoke of my affairs in his very last moments of 
consciousness, and told her to inform me there was 
$1,200 to my credit at his office. 

“ I attended his funeral from the Church of Mem- 
ories, with aching head and weary heart. His wife in 
anguish mourned a husband, and in silence I mourned 
a friend. Again I felt the hour of destiny was upon 
me. Another dreaded change had come. 

“ The family with whom I boarded at that time 
decided to go "West, and urged me to go with them ; 
but my heart lingered over the scenes of my life so 
fraught with sorrow in this city. 

After many doubts and consultation, I accepted the 
last resort for ‘ decayed gentlewomen,’ and decided 
to take boarders. Mr. James found a good house in 
a desirable locality and filled with regular high-priced 


122 A wijmma, waywaud womam 

boarders, which a lady desired to sub-let on account 
of her poor health. The house looked prosperous, 
and he decided that under judicious management the 
experiment would be successful. The venture seemed 
tangible, as I had fifteen hundred dollars as a reserve 
fund, and all calculations were eminently satisfactory 
on paper. In my ignorance I entered upon my new 
life with faith in myself and results ; but alas for ex- 
pectations ! it was an experience of care, anxiety, 
loss and mortification. Revenue through that channel 
is obtained at a great sacrifice. Every woman of a 
sensitive nature who has ventured the enterprise to 
bridge over necessity, has no doubt experienced tor- 
ment only one degree removed from Dante’s Inferno, 
and can endorse my opinion as true. There is no 
burden on earth equal to a ‘ genteel boarding house 
no effort so tantalizing or inimical to life, health and 
happiness. I was not practical in housekeeping, and 
knew absolutely nothing of domestic economy, and 
my attempted economy was a failure. This con- 
sciousness made me wretched, for boarders have a 
right to demand value received. But through mis- 
management they could not command their rights. 
Dinners were an apology, luncheons reminders of 
chronic starvation, and breakfasts of enforced Lent. 
I could not make expenses meet, and my boarders 
were the sufferers, and of course left me. I obtained 


A WmmJVG, WAFWABD WOJfAJV. 


123 


a cheaper class ; but irritations over repeated failures 
made their complaints constant, and what was worse, 
they were just. I was nearly frantic with anxiety, or 
more truly, hysteria. It was not only a matter of con- 
science, but necessity and endeavor on my part to 
meet my bills promptly ; for after the first year my 
credit was short and limited. Tradespeople are keen 
observers of thrift and economy, and readily discover 
extravagance and mismanagement, and are governed 
accordingly. My bills for rent, coal, gas and supplies 
had to be met ; all the money left me by Mr. Stan- 
wood . was sacrificed. Then under the delusive 
shadow of hope, I robbed myself of everything. I 
pawned the ring Walter gave me in Home, and an 
opal medallion of my mother’s, to pay a grocer’s bill. 
This was the beginning of my brokerage — the be- 
ginning of a bitter end. The ring of the bell gave 
me spasmodic heart desease, and bills for collection 
drained my life. Two years of boarding-house ex- 
perience aged me more than all other afflictions, yet, 
in my darkest hours, the memory of Mr. Hamilton’s 
love was a solace, and the truth of his religion made 
my determination fixed, to remain pure and un- 
spotted from the world,” to be able to meet him in 
the hereafter without apology. My poverty con- 
firms this assertion ; I have lost friends and fortunes, 
and buried memories in the grave of the past ; yet 


124 


A wnmnsTG, watwabd womaj^. 


can linger over the buried hopes ^ with tender, loving 
regret, nor would I he willingly deprived of the 
recollections and associations therein. Time has 
softened but not impaired the sacredness of my sor- 
row. Eut boarding-house experience proved the 
destroyer of youth, happiness and hope. In nearly 
every affliction hope is an anchor, and under its in- 
spiration life is not barren ; but when bound in 
poverty with the ball and chain of a boarding house, 
then it is that one realizes afflictions that are real, not 
imaginary, and that neither time, hope nor resigna- 
tion can dispel ; they become an abiding sorrow. 
During those black days I looked back with a clear 
glance ; every milestone stood out in bold relief, but 
the blackest sorrow, marked in blackest letters, was 
boarding house ! It was the affliction of afflictions, 
and brought on low typhoid fever. In my fever- 
fancies, I believed the curse entailed followed me 
through the money received from the Warden estate. 
When I received money actually from Mr. Stanwood’s 
own means, my life was peaceful and content, but the 
dividends from the wreck of the Warden estate 
proved Dead-sea fruit, and placed me again under the 
inexorable dominion of Fate. 

“ The collapse came. Creditors were clamorous 
and I was hopeless. My landlord was a former friend 
of Mr. Stanwood. I sent for him, and he came to 


A 'WmmWG, WAYWABB WOMAN. 


125 


me and recognized the situation. I told him the true 
story. He had known of my devotion to his old 
friend, Mr. Hamilton, and he stood between me 
and the world. I owed him nine hundred dollars, 
hut that was quickly cancelled, and from my effects 
he paid the tradespeople in full, and secured me ad- 
mittance to St. Luke’s Hospital, taking me there in 
his own carriage. I remained at the hospital several 
months, where he kept me supplied with hooks, 
papers and flowers, and at Christmas sent me his 
check for flfty dollars ; a nohle act of genuine charity, 
actuated hy pure kindness of heart. 

“ Out of the wreck I only saved this suit of clothes, 
and this package of old letters. I had no hope or 
expectation of recovering the jewelry. My only hope 
was to die during December, at St. Luke’s ; but it 
was disappointment more than illness that prostrated 
me when taken there, and as my health improved, 
action and effort were marked, and I decided to go 
West with the money Mr. Brooks had given me. I 
wrote him a note to that effect, and left the hospital . 
with that intention. 

‘‘ That was two weeks ago, but my heart failed me. 
I decided to wait until I felt more willing to leave 
Hew York. The day before you met me I went to 
Greenwood to visit my dead, when a new idea, a 
happy thought, took complete possession of me. 


126 


A WINNING, WAYWABB WOMAN 


Why, in all my troubles, had I failed to think of 
suicide, to end all in eternal sleep ? This seemed so 
much less terrible than accepting charity, or living 
on the bounty of servants. To resolve was to act, nor 
did I deem it cowardly to close the chapter, and with 
my own hand write — Finis. I was ready to meet death 
unflinchingly. There is a certain degree of heroism 
when one can bring one’s self to the act, and when 
possessed of reason but deprived of hope. I longed 
for rest in Greenwood ; a repose I could enjoy inde- 
pendent of charity. Then and there I decided upon 
Ash Wednesday on which to enter eternity. I re- 
turned to my desolate lodgings, wrote a letter to a 
known undertaker, enclosing money for last expenses, 
and referred him to the Greenwood Cemetery Com- 
pany regarding the Warden lot. I paid my landlady, 
then procured a bottle of laudanum and went out 
alone to meet my fate. A strange fancy led me to 
visit places where I had met my destiny face to face. 
I went to my father’s old home, from which I went 
forth the unhappy bride of Colonel Warden. Then 
to the Warden house, where he had died, and from 
which little Amelie soared a bright angel; where 
Walter said an eternal farewell the day he rode to his 
death, and where Mr. Douglass left me to face the 
King of Terrors. That home of memories I had sold 
in Mr. Hamilton’s dark hour, to provide for the wife 


A WIJSrmWG, WAYWABD WOMAN. 


127 


of his youth, when left unprovided for, in age and sor- 
row, through no fault of his. I passed the Everett 
House, where Harry Warden wrote a chapter in my 
heart’s history, then by Mr. Stanwood’s home, and the 
Church of Memories, when the fl.ood-gate of memory 
opened and nearly overwhelmed me with a tide of 
recollections that only God can wipe away. I was 
nearing St. Luke’s,* from this sad pilgrimage, weary 
and worn, to remain for the night, intending to 
close the record in that home of Christ-like charity, 
when, like a guardian angel, you appeared to save 
me from myself. I beheve little Amelie sent you to 
me to make my heritage of woe a memory. 

“ I have detailed the main facts of my blighted 
life, and given names of the principal actors in the 
drama and tragedy when youth and life were before 
me. Ho embellishments are needed in history like 
mine, and I am in just that state of mind where the 
confessional is sought as a balm by penitents, and 
what is better still, I know forgiveness comes from 
God.” 

“ Let me send for Dr. H.,” Mrs. Dunbar said, ea- 
gerly. ‘‘ He will make the path to Heaven clear and 
bright.” 

^''Ho, not yet. Your religion and kindness are all 
the consolation I require, and are more potent than 
words can effect. Your deeds are evidences of 


128 


A WIJVWmG, WAFWABD WOMAJV. 


Cliristianitj. I liad rather have your prayers than 
the prayers of any minister, but when the end comes 
I would like Dr. H. to say ‘ dust to dust ’ over the 
Dead-sea fruit of my life.” 


Chapter XIY. 

Mrs. Dunbar left Mrs. Warden to rest while she 
hastened to Dr. Sewell’s house, fully intent to repeat 
the story of one who had loved much and realized to 
the fullest extent love’s sacrifice. 

‘^Glad to see you. Flossy. Is she a tramp or a 
trump ? ” he asked, with a smile. 

“ She is neither, nor is she a Magdalene ; but one of 
the noble army of martyrs who have suffered for 
love.” 

I understand ; you have heard and believed her 
story. She has played the odd trick and won.” 

‘‘ Xo, Uncle Tom ; she has had many odd tricks 
played on her, but she will win at last.” 

“ Indeed ? I suppose she has canonized herself a 
saint. May I ask what church has the honor of her 
miraculous infiuence ? ” 

“ She is a Presbyterian, and you know they are al- 
ways good people. She is not of the class of women 
who have no faith in honorable men and pure 


A wijvmwa, wafwajRd womaj}^^. 


129 


women ; for she knows from experience that friend- 
ship can exist between man and woman without evil.” 

‘‘ That is a great conviction,” Dr. Sewell said, with 
a smile ; worthy of a womanly heart. Cherish the 
thought. Flossy, for it is only justice to mankind, and 
remember, good women make good men. But come 
down to honest facts : how does she pan out ? ” 

“ Pure gold, without alloy ; purified by affliction, 
refined by sorrow and made precious through sacrifice. 
She is not, in one sense, a woman of the world, not a 
woman of experience or easy virtue, to be bought for 
a price, or auctioned off through vanity to the high- 
est bidder. She has loved, but there is no crime in 
honorable love, and if through her heart she sinned, 
the atonement is made.” 

“ Oh, yes, I know all this ; but tell me, honestly : is . 
she saint or sinner ? ” 

A little of both.” 

“]^ow, I am surprised. You do not mean to con- 
vey the impression that Saint Romance ever broke a 
commandment ? ” Dr. Sewell said, quizzically. 

“ Yes ; I fancy she has broken every one through 
thought or deed ; but she confesses the truth, and that 
is more than most commandment-breakers do.” 

‘‘I presume your ITew Magdalene has many as- 
sumed virtues. But show me one actual fact before I 
endorse your saint.” 


130 


A wijsrwim, WAYWABD WOMAN. 


“Your endorsement is not r-equired. She is he- 
yond the reach of man’s favor ; she has the seal of 
pardon from a higher power than earthly judgment.” 

“ Did she show the document? ” 

“ I will not tell you anything about her.” 

“ Go ahead, Flossy, for your tongue is aching to 
go on its mission.” 

“ I know you are as impatient as a woman to hear 
the story, for men have just as much curiosity as 
women, only with greater power of concealment ; hut 
if you wish me to talk you must not speak unless I 
press your hand,” she said, seating herself by his side 
for a long talk. 

“ There is no hope of pressure, but let me ask one 
question before you begin : Is the story full of fic- 
tion, and does it close with a dramatic climax? for I 
wish to avoid shock, as I have several visits to make, 
and I think I see revelation in your eye.” 

“ You will catch the truth if you will only listen. 
Mrs. Warden is alone in the world, but she has a bat- 
talion of friends in Greenwood. In that phantom 
host there is a father, mother, two husbands, one 
lover, three devoted friends and a dear little baby.” 

“ Is that all ? ” Dr. Sewell asked, in a deprecating 
tone. 

“ Do not disturb my fiow of language,” she said, 
with a smile. 


A WINNING, WATWABD WOMAN. 


131 


ITo danger of that. Yon are too womanly to be 
checked by spirits or skeletons ; hut really, as a pliy- 
sician, I am interested in the Greenwood investment 
— I am anxious to become acquainted with her modus 
operandi in establishing such a plant. She has been 
successful in disposing of her friends and has it all 
her own way, for ^ dead men tell no tales.’ But go 
on with your romance.”- 

It is not romance, but a stern reality, and you will 
recognize facts that will surprise you. I am not yet 
able to give detail, only main facts. Mrs. Warden is 
a daughter of the late Mr. Bourne, the rich cotton 
merchant of Peck Slip renown. She married Colonel 
Warden, whom she did not love ; but she worshiped 
Walter Duncan, and paid dearly for her devotion. 
Still, with all her faults she never sinned for money 
or to ruin hearts, homes or happiness. She loved for 
the sake of love.” 

. “ I suppose love pleased her more than marriage, 
for the reason that romance is more interesting than 
history,” the doctor said, quizzically. 

‘‘ I do not suppose anything. I speak from 
proof. You have always believed in documentary 
evidence, and I have written words to maintain my 
statements. In due process of time Colonel Warden 
died a natural death, leaving her rich ; but just as the 
opportunity offered to secure a husband in the lover, 


132 


A Wmmm, WAYWABD WOMAN. 


he was killed, and through his death she lost a for- 
tune, which had been entrusted to his care. She then 
found a substantial friend in Mr. Douglass, the uncle 
of the nephew, and was engaged to he married to 
him when he died; as did her little daughter to 
whom she was devotedly attached. Then her love 
centered on a dear old gentleman whom she loved as 
a father. The experience proved unfortunate, finan- 
cially, but was rich in happiness and memories, ob- 
tained at a sacrifice of sixty thousand dollars. After 
his death she married Henry Warden, a nephew of 
Colonel Warden, as an experiment. She believed it 
her duty to invest the balance of the Warden estate 
for the benefit of the last of his race. He met an 
untimely death ; then robbery by a servant, and a 
financial crisis, wrecked the Warden estate beyond re- 
demption. Mr. Stan wood, her counsel and friend, 
came to the rescue. He, however, regarded the 
estate an entailed curse, and I suppose he knew more 
about it than he admitted to his client. Then he 
died suddenly ; but the last and greatest calamity that 
befell this woman of sorrow was a boarding house ; 
that venture ruined her body and nearly killed her 
soul, for she had determined upon suicide to end it 
all, when she fell at my feet.” 

“ Is she a fool ? ” Dr. Sewell asked, quickly. 

“ Ho more than any woman when in love. Her 


A WIJV^JVmG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


133 


faith in mankind was without limit, her trust abso- 
lute. Love versus common sense,” Mrs. Dunbar con- 
tinued, thoughtfully. Another proof that reality is 
stranger than romance. Now, Uncle Tom, what do 
you think of my saint ? ” 

“ I think you have told your story well ; hut I do 
not believe one word of it. She has drawn upon her 
imagination to please a credulous little woman, who 
possesses the faith and trust she portrayed. She has 
duplicity enough to know you would accept as truth 
every word of her combination of impossibilities. 
She has sense enough to know you wish her to be 
high-toned, so she gave a golden romance to please, 
and seems to have filled the bill to your mutual satis- 
faction. Take my word for it, she is not, nor has she 
ever been, the ^ big bonanza ’ that she claims.” 

You do little credit to my judgment, while I 
know I have the gift to recognize truth and good- 
ness, and can discriminate between truth and false- 
hood by intuition, if not judgment. I am convinced 
Mrs. Warden’s story is true, and I intend to prove it 
to your satisfaction.” 

“ Flossy, were you ever deceived ? Did you ever 
meet an untruthful woman ? Are you not inclined 
to believe ‘ all is gold that glitters ? ’ ” 

When a poor woman tells me she is good I give 
her the benefit of the doubt ; for confidence inspires 


134 


A WmSISG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


truth, and facts are quickly reached. I do not probe 
too deep ; it is best to leave something for the 
imagination to dwell upon.”* 

“Facts are not always interesting, and my experi- 
ence makes me cautious in accepting assertion as 
truth. I have been deceived so frequently in my 
most trusted cases that I have lost faith in beggars’ 
romance, and can detect a fraud very quickly.” 

“But, uncle, you ought to be more Christ-like. 
There was no old Thomas to throw a stone, or call 
Mary Magdalene a fraud.” 

“ The Magdalene of that episode was a beautiful 
woman, if we can judge from the pictures ; hence 
forgiveness was easily won.” 

“ You are fond of art, but do not paint v^th sin. 
A pretty woman is just as guilty as an ngly one in 
the sight of God.” 

“A pretty woman may be as guilty, but she has 
greater opportunities for forgiveness. Your Magda- 
lene no doubt was pretty at the time of her downfall.” 

“Her downfall?” Flossy said, contemptuously. 
“ She never had a downfall. She is not a social sin- 
ner, but was a martyr to love without motive or 
harm. A sin of that nature is more pardonable in 
the sight of God and man than when influenced by 
unworthy motive or design. I have faith in her, 
and will go from the Park to the Battery in quest of 


A WAYWARD WOMAN. 


135 


proof to confirm her statement. I will go to St. 
Lukes, where she has been until recently under the 
protection of your friend, Mr. Brooks ; then to the 
Cotton Exchange, where the Warden estate can he 
corroborated, also her father’s connection ; Mr. Doug- 
lass will be remembered ; then last, but not least, the 
Greenwood Cemetery Company will know of the 
phantom battalion consigned to their care. Besides, 
she was a real-estate owner, and the record of facts in 
the County Clerk’s office will tell the story. You 
knew Mr. Stanwood, and papa was a friend of Mr. 
Hamilton, and if one part of Mrs. Warden’s extraor- 
dinary history be true, it is safe to assume the whole 
can be accepted without doubt. Then my last and 
best witness is Dr. H.” 

“ You are a real little lawyer.” 

“ Perhaps so ; but I had no idea so much material 
would develop in my heroine of heart-history.” 

“ Be sure your history is not fiction agreed to. But, 
Flossy, if Mrs. Warden’s story be true, it is a terrible 
reality ; she had better have died silent.” 

“ Why do you speak so solemnly ? Do you regard 
her as a Hemesis, to bring evil to all whom she loves ?” 

‘‘ God forbid ; but I hope He will call her soon. 
Go on your mission, for I am interested in the sequel. 
I have a glimmering of light penetrating my unbe- 
lief regarding your Ash-Day saint. I knew Doug- 


136 


A Wmmm, WAYWABD WO^AJY. 


lass, Duncan, Hamilton and Stanwood; I recall a 
chapter of ancient social history, and it dawns on me 
that Amelie Warden’s romance may prove a reality.” 

“ How did you know her name is Amelie ? ” Flor- 
ence asked, eagerly. 

‘‘My dear, I am familiar with the heart-history 
of many people in this city, but as a rule I do 
not tell all I know ; for in my profession ‘ silence is 
golden.’ By the way, has Arthur been on double 
duty to make the case more interesting ? ” 

“ He is away, but pledged to the Warden cause,” 
Florence said, with a smile. 

“ She may be a relic of interest to more than one,” 
Dr. Sewell said. “ I wonder which Douglass had the 
honor to figure in this romance ? ” 

“ I do not know ; but I have written words to guide 
me in seeking out the names I desire, and prominent 
men are easily found.” 

“ My faith is great in your success. I will call at 
your house to-morrow evening to hear the result. I 
am sure it will be interesting, for you have the ma- 
terial for a first-class novel with a dramatic climax.” 


Chaptee XY. 

Dr. Sewell called as appointed to hear the report. 
“It is all true,” Mrs. Dunbar said, triumphantly. 


A wiwmm, WAYWABB W03IAJY. 


137 


“ Every assertion is fully confirmed. Besides, I have 
made an unexpected discovery, and have a romance 
on my own hands.” 

“ The devil !” Dr. Sewell exclaimed. 

“ No, not the devil, but the Douglass.” 

“ You take my breath away. Flossy. But sit down 
quietly and tell me the true story.” 

“ It is true from A to Z, and the united combina- 
tion is splendid material for a love story with a dra- 
matic finale. I went from Park to Battery without 
tracing a false statement. Mrs. Warden owns a valu- 
able lot in Greenwood, and the phantom battalion you 
so much doubted are all duly recorded.” 

“ Have none of them got away ? ” the doctor asked, 
with a smile. 

No, not one ; but the son of the father, the old 
man of whom she spoke, is still alive, and he will be 
your nephew at Easter. I have won a husband through 
this romance,” she said gaily, holding up her hand to 
show a sparkling diamond on her engagement finger. 

Dr. Sewell gazed at her in startled surprise. 
“ I must confess your touch-and-take method of 
courtship is beyond my comprehension ; but, tell me 
— to whom are you engaged ? ” 

‘‘Arthur Douglass is the fortunate man,” she re- 
plied, with mock gravity. “ You know, TJncle Tom, 
the Knight of Charity was Mr. Douglass.” 


138 


A wmmJSTG, WAYWARD WOMAN. 


I have always called him Arthur. But how did 
lie win you so quickly ? ” 

“By natural process. We love each other, we are 
at liberty to consummate our love by marriage and, 
like a wise man and woman, have accepted our privi- 
leges. You will see I have not disappointed you, for 
the anticipated result is an accomplished fact.’' 

“Well, Flossy, there are no half measures in your 
nature. Tell me how it was brought about within 
twenty-four hours.” 

“ First, please remember that Mr. Douglass is a 
banker, accustomed to accepting at sight.” 

“ Yes, I know ; but give, facts. I should judge that 
you had been taking lessons of love from Amelie 
Warden. I know all about widows’ ways; but tell 
me of Douglass. I believed he had common sense.” 

“ He has ; he knows a good thing when he sees it. 
How for the story : 

“When investigating Mrs. Warden’s romance I 
struck one of my own, and made the most of my 
opportunity by aiding Mr. Douglass to see that 
Barkis was willing, and waiting ; a little encourage- 
ment expedites matters wonderfully. A widow is a 
good skirmisher, and knows when to advance, when 
to retreat, and the proper tactics to bring about a 
climax. 

“ I went to the Cotton Exchange to make inquiries 


A WIWmNG, WAYWABD WOMAJY. 


139 


regarding Colonel Warden, and naturally asked the 
address of Mr. Arthur Douglass. I was directed to 
his office on Wall street, and sent in my card from 
the carriage ; when, to my genuine surprise, the hero 
of my Lenten charity appeared. I was very glad to 
see him, and told him that I was waiting to see Mr. 
Douglass. 

“ ^ Am I not the man to whom this card is ad- 
dressed — Arthur Douglass V 

“ ‘ Can I be mistaken ? I believed your name 
Arthur. Uncle Tom surely calls you by that name.’ 

‘ He has done so from childhood ; but I am Arthur 
Douglass all the same, and delighted to see you. But 
I have lost my conceit, for I fancied you came to visit 
me in reference to Mrs. Warden. I intended to see 
you this evening. I am glad to hear from her in 
this agreeable manner, however, even though the visit 
was not intended for me.’ 

“ ^ I did come expressly to see Arthur Douglass in 
reference to Mrs. Warden. Do you know who she 
is ? ’ I asked, directly. 

“ ^ I have not the remotest idea ; but has she de- 
veloped badly ? ’ 

‘ Ho ; but she has a long, sad story, which I wish 
to confide to you, for you are somewhat concerned. 
Can you drive with me while we talk the matter 
over ? ’ 


140 


A wiJsrmwG, wayward woman. 


‘ Yes ; with pleasure. My time is not my own 
when you make a demand upon it.’ He went into 
the bank for a moment, then returned. ‘ Your face 
looks too earnest for delay. What have you to con- 
fide to me ? ’ 

“ ‘ I may not be quite right in this confidence, but 
I believe I am following the golden rule in telling 
you frankly that Mrs. Warden’s history is closely 
connected with that of the Douglass family.’ 

“ ‘ Please explain frankly : I cannot follow you. 
I need enlightenment, for your proposed confidence 
is a mystery to me.’ 

^‘Then, without interruption, I detailed the full 
statement, and showed the letters to confirm it. He 
was dumb with astonishment, and evidently much 
pained and surprised. 

“ ‘ It is singular,’ he said, with a depressed sigh ; 
^ but I suppose, to a degree, it is true. I thank you 
for coming directly to me in this delicate matter.’ 

“ ^ Then you are not angry with me ? ’ 

^ Angry with you ? What a question to put to 
me, when you have been so considerate to the dead 
and kind to the living ! This act will endear you to 
me forever.’ 

“ You know, Uncle Tom, there is a masonry between 
ardent souls that requires no words. He knew my heart 
echoed ^ forever,’ for he said, with a meaning smile : 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


141 


“‘Let us dispose of the Warden romance ; then we 
will have our own.’ 

“He admitted that he knew something of the 
family history ; but declared emphatically that there 
was no error of judgment on the part of his father 
in the settlement of Walter Duncan’s estate. 

“ ‘ My father was honorable to the highest degree,’ 
he said earnestly. 

“ ‘ Mrs. Warden says the same. She defends him as 
ardently as you can. She deifies him as infallible.’ 

“ ‘ I suppose I must follow the traditions of my 
family, and become interested in the romantic siren.’ 

“ ‘ Do not speak so slightingly,’ I said, with reproof 
in my voice. ‘ She is a lady by birth, education, 
instinct; refined in sentiment, a relic of decayed 
fortune, a true exponent of heart history. The error 
of her life was in loving your cousin, and that is a 
golden experience compared with the experiences of 
many who escape the penalty of the world’s censure. 
She may have sinned, but she has suffered.’ 

“ ‘ I will make atonement,’ he said, quickly. ‘ I 
will endeavor in every way to contribute to her wel- 
fare ; but you must be the medium, and not allow 
her to know I am a Douglass. That will make her em- 
bittered life more bearable, for old memories would 
become more vivid, and no good result. You can 
draw on my bank and heart without limit, but it is 


143 


A WIJVmATG, WATWABD WOMAM 


my business to demaud value received : I shall claim 
a reward.’ 

“ ‘ Yes ; an approving conscience is a rich reward,’ 
I replied ; and what do you suppose he said and 
did next ? ” 

“ I can’t imagine, unless he got out and walked 
home,” Dr. Sewell said, with a laugh. 

“ No ; he put his arm around me, and saying, ‘ you 
are the reward I claim,’ actually kissed me ! ” 

“ Upon my word, Florence Dunbar, did you allow 
him to kiss you on the street ?” her uncle asked, with 
surprise. 

I allowed nothing ; nor were we on the street — 
we were in the Park. I don’t suppose I am the first 
woman ever kissed by her intended husband. Didn’t 
you kiss Aunt Isabelle before you married her ? If 
you didn’t she was disappointed.” 

“ Yes ; but I had known her more than one hour. 
But what did you do after that demonstration ?” 

“ I tried to look dignified ; then we both smiled. 
You know. Uncle Tom, there is a world of meaning 
in a kiss ; one does not naturally repel such an over- 
ture. Besides, it is embarrassing to a man to meet 
no response when endeavoring to please a lady. I 
took it so calmly that he felt reassured, and asked, 
‘ You are not angry with me ? ’ 

‘ No ; but you must not surprise me so again.’ 


A WlJVJVmO, WAFWABB WOMAJF. 


143 


He said he would not, but I must be prepared at 
a moment’s notice, and that he believed in reciprocity. 
He came home and dined with me, and practiced 
the art of love-making with great success. He wanted 
me to name the day for our wedding without delay ; 
but I told him we could not be married during Lent. 

“ ^ I should like to know why. I have never known 
any written law or gospel to prevent a man marrying 
when he felt like it, and the bride waiting.’ 

“^Yes; but I am an Episcopalian, and cannot 
offend the conventionalities of society and church,’ 
I replied. 

Thank God, I am a Presbyterian. We are 
practical in our religion and marry when we please.’ 

He has no more regard for Lent than a heathen. 
I shall have missionary work at home. My one 
heathen will keep me occupied. I read the marriage 
service to him, and he said that he should not go 
through all that nonsense when he married ; that one 
clause convinced him that its compilers had made a 
mistake in the formula : ‘ Wliat God hath joined 
together, let no man put asunder.’ Hine times out 
of ten woman was the cause of breaking the holy 
bond. How, Uncle Tom, what do you think of 
our romance ? ” 

It is love with a vengeance. I think you are 
both fortunate, but were too precipitate in a matter 


144 


A WmmJS'G, WAYWABI) WOMAN. 


of such moment. You should have consulted me, if 
only for the sake of the proprieties.” 

“ Mr. Douglass did speak of your approval, hut I 
told him it was a ^ tradition of our family to marry 
as we pleased.” 

“ Yes, dear ; hut marriage is a solemn event.” 

‘^And it is a great deal more solemn not to he 
married. I have experimented, and can speak with 
knowledge ; I believe we shall be happy. He fills 
my reason and imagination. My surrender is ab- 
solute, my happiness supreme.” 

“ Evidently,” Dr. Sewell said, with a kiss. I 
congratulate you from my heart, and hope your future 
will be as bright as your eyes. I fancied the chance 
acquaintance would prove a lover, hut did not antici- 
pate such a spontaneous outburst of the ‘ divine pas- 
sion.’ ” 

“ I know I shall be happy, for I feel the en- 
thusiasm of love and already feel ten years younger. 
Am I not prettier, as a result ? ” 

“ You are a funny little woman — all sunshine. 
Your path to Heaven is illuminated, and your love is 
a blessing to hearts and homes. I pray God the 
shadows may never lengthen over your life, or dead- 
sea fruit, embitter your happiness.” 

“ Give your opinion to Mr. Douglass, for he scarcely 
realizes that he has won a prize. I wonder if it 


A wijmwa, WATWAHJ) WOMAJV^, 


145 


will ever occur to him that I was too easily cap- 
tured ? ” 

l!^o ; he will discover that your impulses are 
sudden, but good. He has sense enough to know and 
admire a genuine woman free from disguise. He 
will discover that it is impossible for you to dia 
semble ; hut, just for a change, try to he a little more 
conventional in your love making.” 

“ Tell me. Uncle Tom, 'is my life one long fault ? ” 
“ Ho, no, my dear child ; I would not have you 
different. Your natural warm-heartedness is delight- 
ful, but — I rejoice to have you under the protection 
of a man like Douglass.” 

I may he too ardent, too effusive, hut I am 
natural. God made me as I am ; but I will try and he 
less impulsive. Aunt Sewell is a social critic who 
has less faith in impulse than you have. She said to 
me yesterday, ‘ the qualities of your nature will be 
charming in a wife, and more kindly regarded by 
society than in a widow.’ She will rejoice over my 
good luck, and we shall hear from her, ‘ I made the 
match.’ Promise me to keep my secret until Easter. 
I want to keep her on the anxious seat during Lent, as 
a penance for want of charity.” 

“ I will promise that, if you will promise me to be 
very discreet, and not by your artlessness of character 
invite gossip.” 


146 


A WIAWIJVG, WAYWABJ) WOATAJY. 


With a mutual promise uncle, and niece parted, 
with varied emotions at the entrance of this new factor 
into Florence’s life. 

The next morning Mr. Douglass and Mrs. Dunbar, 
armed with j^awn tickets, went to recover Mrs. War- 
den’s jewelry, and undo one of the saddest acts that 
can possibly be enacted in the tragedy of poverty. 
Is there anything more terrible than such necessity ? 
Think of the anguish of broken hearts, ruined hopes, 
and blighted lives of men and women forced to part 
with souvenirs of love, for money ! God pity man 
or woman forced to enter upon this style of broker- 
age ! It is the largest percentage one can give. 

Judas must have been the founder of pawn 
shops and blood-money,” Florence said, reflectively. 
“ Do you suppose he gave any grace to his victims ? ” 

He 'knew the value of thirty pieces of silver, but I 
do not think he ever heard of forty days’ grace before 
marriage vows could be taken. Have I really to wait 
thirty days before I can attain to the dignity of being 
your husband ? I do not think much of austere Lent, 
and wish the injunction removed so that I can claim 
and acknowledge ownership of the finest investment 
of my life.” 

The Episcopalians regard forms and ceremonies, 
and observe Lenten obligations as rigorously as you 
do banking rules and regulations.” 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


147 


“ I had no idea Lent was observed so strictly, nor 
did I suppose it was required of even tlie* strictest 
church people to forego any desired pleasure. I 
believed you were begging time to invest in a wed- 
ding trousseau.” 

“ You should never suppose, after I have declared 
a truth.” 

“ I understand ; if you say black is white, I am re- 
quired to assent ?” 

“ According to strict domestic discipline, you are 
correct. Then I want you to devote your time and 
attention to me, subject to call.” 

“ Am I to suspend business ? ” he asked, in a voice 
indicating that the sacrifice of business to pleasure 
would be rather agreeable. 

Yes ; you are rich enough to live on the smiles 
of your wife, and give your partner an opportunity 
to increase his wealth. He may not be so fortunate 
as to be able to live by love alone.” 

“ You may be as aggressive as you please.” 

There is one more question to ask before I am 
entirely content. How did you dare to kiss me ? ” 

‘‘ Because I wanted to ; but don’t that question 
come a little late ? ” he asked, with a smile. 

“ Did you ever kiss a lady before, without some 
prelude ? ” 

“ I never desired to marry before, consequently 


148 


A wmmm, waywaed womajy. 


never kissed a lady with the same intentions. As a 
rule, men are not led either into matrimonial ad- 
vances, or kissing, unless they are reasonably assured 
their overtures will be well received. I made up my 
mind the day we met to make you my wife ; but I 
fancied a hundred obstacles, and fully expected to 
make siege against the fortress of your heart in a 
heroic manner.” 

“ You did not have to waste much ammunition, did 
you ? I surrendered without even a parley ; actually 
threw myself into the hospitable arms of the captor. 
1 wonder if our experience runs parallel with the 
majority of love matches 'i ” 

Yes ; I fancy so. General Dearlybought said to 
me last night — ^when speaking of Widow Charming, 
who actually threw herself at him and would not re- 
bound, although he was not quite prepared for ‘ the 
catch ’ — ‘ Infinite, no doubt, is the variety of circum- 
stances and results under which experiences of this 
nature are classed, and the knowledge of the average 
man is naturally limited on this subject ; but no doubt, 
if he compares notes, not a few will agree that the 
difficulties of courtship invite less embarrassment than 
men generally suppose.’ I did not confirm his im- 
pressions by acknowledging my experience had been 
free from obstacles.” 

‘‘ You must excuse my ardor,” Mrs. Dunbar said, 


A WINNING, WAYWARTf WOMAN 


149 


looking frankly into kis eyes to impress her sincerity. 
“ I suppose I ought to be mortified for showing my 
heart so quickly. I know it was not quite conven- 
tional, but it seemed so natural.” 

“ There is no cause for self-reproach on your part ; 
but your frankness helped me to win with great 
celerity. I wish you were as helpful in bringing 
about a consummation of anticipated delights.” 

The day passed in small talk, filled in with bright 
fancies, to be realized after Easter. 

Mrs. Dunbar returned home, where she carefully 
examined the sparkling gems, with varied emotions. 
A large medallion in the shape of the letter D, set 
with rare diamonds, attracted her special notice. She 
felt there was a history connected with the amulet, 
but controlled her curiosity and put away the jewels 
until Easter, for a surprise to one who had parted with 
them in hopeless sorrow. 

Mrs. Dunbar’s engagement was not made public. 
Madame Rumor, however, was not deceived, and 
announced with emphatic earnestness that the mar- 
riage would take place during the Easter holidays. 
Douglass was the man of all men Mrs. Sewell would 
have chosen for her niece, had the power been dele- 
gated to her. 

I am delighted with the rumor, and have come 


150 


A WATWABD WOMAJT. 


to see you to satisfy myself,” she said to Florence, in a 
tone indicating that the subject was understood. 

“ Yes ; we are pleased to know Mrs. Warden is to 
be admitted to such a nice home. Mr. Douglass will 
take her there Easter Monday.” 

“I don’t care about Mrs. Warden ; I am more in- 
terested in the almoner of his charity than in the sub- 
ject. Rumor says you are the inspiration of his good 
deeds.” 

“ Rumor seldom runs parallel with truth,” Florence 
said with a smile. 

“ I hope it does in this case,” Mrs. Sewell replied ; 

I have felt you would see the importance of making 
a suitable marriage, while the Doctor seemed to be- 
lieve you would allow your heart to betray your 
head ; but you have had my precept and example to 
guide you.” 

“ But suppose you are premature in your conclu- 
sion ; suppose Mrs. Warden, instead of Mrs. Dunbar, 
is the romance of the charity ? ” 

I am not deceived ; I believe he is already ac- 
cepted, and I am honest enough to confess I am de- 
lighted. Wealth is a great factor in the marriage 
contract, the true basis of domestic felicity ; I told 
Mrs. Society you had pride, wisdom and sagacity, and 
would make no mistake.” 

“ I beg leave to ditfer from your general deduc- 


A WAYWAlil) WOMAJY. 


151 


tion on general principles and in this specific case ; I 
am aware of several marriages where great wealth 
exists and little happiness is found.” 

“ You only find such romances in novels,” her 
aunt said, dogmatically ; “ for in reality, money is a 
great promoter of the highest sentiments of nature.” 

“ I have seen men more sentimental under the in- 
fiuence of wine than of money. There is a variety of 
opinions as to the creator of sentiment, but money 
has not been a stimulant in this case.” 

“ But, Florence, are you to marry Arthur Doug- 
lass ? ” 

“ He is on probation ! I shall decide after Easter.” 

“ Why not decide at once ? Delays are dangerous, 
and this is a golden opportunity. I beg you to be 
discreet, for men are men, and widows are widows. I 
have no faith in their engagements until the ceremony 
is performed. So many widows claim they can 
marry whenever they decide to do so, but experience 
and observation have taught me they are on the anxious 
seat, and frequently fail through their own indiscre- 
tions. Expectation without consummation is a 
dangerous pastime, and often leads to complications 
hard to reconcile, and compromises difficult to ex- 
plain. I do hope, Florence, you will not destroy this 
great opportunity, by unorthodox frankness.” 

‘‘ I am not an infant ; I have experience to guide 


152 


A WINNING, WATWABn WOAIAN. 


my actions. Yon can hope much and fear little for 
my future.” 

Mrs. Sewell made some personal inquiries regard- 
ing Mrs. "Warden, hut received few details. Mr. 
Douglass had suggested that Dr. Sewell be the only 
confidant of the true story. He had said : “ It is not 
required of us to unravel the web of her life to 
gratify idle curiosity. We know the. warp and woof, 
and are satisfied with the texture, and there is no 
cause to offer explanation.” 


Chaptee XYI. 

The day before Easter, Mrs. Dunbar told Mrs. 
Warden that Mr. Arthur was the son of her old friend, 
the cousin of Walter. 

Mrs. Warden showed painful emotion for a 
moment, then recovering herself, asked : “ Is he like 
Walter?” 

“ He is handsome and charming in his manner ; 
besides, he is a very good man.” 

“ That is like Walter,” she said, sadly. “ They are 
a lovable race.” 

“ I have an Easter happiness for you. Mr. Doug- 
lass has arranged a home for you with the Sisters of 
Saint Simplicity, in a style becoming your position. 


A WmmJVG, WArWABB WOiYAJV: 


153 


We will go with you on Monday, and you will see me 
constantly. Then here are the jewels you sacrificed 
in your days of trouble.” 

Mrs. Warden opened the cases and viewed the 
sparkling gems in a strange, sad way. I shall give 
all of these to you, excepting the ring Walter gave 
me in Rome, and this medallion. I want both of these 
buried with me.” 

“ The medallion is magnificent, the setting unique, 
the diamonds rare, the opal a wonder,” Mrs. Dunbar 
said, with enthusiastic admiration. 

“ Yes, beautiful, but fatal,” Mrs. Warden replied ; 
and a spell seemed cast over the possessor of the rare 
amulet, as she gazed in silence upon the sparkling 
gem. Then she said, in a far-away voice, that alarmed 
Mrs. Dunbar : 

You will observe the medallion forms the letter 
D. That letter has ruled my life. Pledge me your 
sacred word never to permit Arthur Douglass to wear 
the talismanic horror, for the evil eye is with all 
charms of this nature. Promise me you will bury the 
bewitching gem with me beyond hope of resurrection. 
This charm was made attractive to allure victims to 
destruction. An opal is the devil’s amulet ; a seal of 
destiny, disaster and death. The alliteration has been 
realized in every chapter of my life. The curse of 
God has been upon all those whom I have loved, ever 


154 


A WIJmlJVG, WAFWAUD WOMAM 


since I inherited the fatalistic talisman. My mother 
warned me to beware the fatal opal ; that the only 
release from the curse entailed was through the in- 
fluence of the church of her faith, and that refuge 
from calamity could only be found in a convent home. 
It was foretold by one who watched over the destinies 
of my mother’s family, that a daughter of the seventh 
generation, the last of the Duvalle race, would suffer 
the full meaning of the baneful influences of the fatal 
gem ; that her life would be blighted through disgrace 
and disaster, and that she would meet death alone, 
with strangers ; the prophecy is nearly fulfllled. I 
feel the end is near. I have realized to the fullest 
extent the entailed curse ; the traditions of a family 
have been realized. 

I became a Protestant, knowing that to change 
faith was the direct cause to invite the penalty ; I en- 
deavored to banish superstition and rise above mysti- 
cal forebodings by invoking practical common sense. 
I tried to view the gem of tragedy only as a beautiful 
ornament ; and, to overcome superstition, I had those 
whom I loved best wear the charm to increase my 
faith and break the spell of fatality. I placed it on 
Walter’s chain a few days before he rode to his death. 
It was with me when little Amelie died, and with 
Mr. Douglass when he met the king of terrrors. It 
was in Mr. Hamilton’s safe when he was overtaken 


A WTJVWIjVO, WAFWABD WOMAJS^. 155 

with disaster, and with me during mj repeated mis- 
fortunes. It was in Mr. Stanwood’s keeping when 
he died, and with me when boarding house ruin 
followed. 

‘‘ I dare not have it in this house,” she said earn- 
estly, “ for your name begins with the traditional D, 
so does Douglass ; and there must be no evil eye in 
your joint destinies through Amelie Duvalle’s en- 
tailed curse. 

“ Mr. Stan wood believed the Warden estate to be 
the bane of my life, but the true cause can be traced 
directly to the fatal opal of my mother’s family. The 
men who owned this opal were brave, but wicked, and 
the women who inherited the gem died by their own 
hand or by the hand of an enemy. You have saved me 
from self-destruction ; but death cannot be averted — 
the prophecy will be fulfilled. The spell of the evil 
eye can only be broken at the inevitable grave, when 
the last of the race joins her ancestry. Bury the gem 
with me, and its fatal influences will not be resur- 
rected ; for an opal is not a crown jewel of heaven. 

“ In my darkest hour God sent you to me, and in- 
tuition tells me my misfortunes have not been with- 
out result. You will marry the son of a man whom I 
once loved, and to bring happiness to his son is com- 
pensation. I have not lived in vain. 

“ My mission is closed. Old memories and trage- 


156 


A WIJSrmi^G, WAYWABD WOMAJY. 


dies are dead ; God has been good to me. The charm 
is broken ; all bitterness will soon be a memory.” 

On Easter Eve, Mr. Douglass met the woman of 
destiny alone. She had expressed a desire to do 
so. He was surprised at the great transformation 
wrought in the forlorn woman whom he had be- 
friended forty days before. He expressed his 
pleasure, and his desire to serve her in any way she 
might suggest. 

“ The veil is withdrawn,” she said, slowly. “ My 
wish is anticipated. You have won a woman for a 
wife worthy of a Douglass. My mission is ended — 
my destiny fulfilled.” 

On Easter night Mrs. Dunbar’s engagement was 
announced, and Mr. Douglass presented by Dr. Se- 
well as an Easter offering to Mrs. Dunbar. Mrs. 
Warden was introduced as the guest of the evening 
to friends who were invited to congratulate Mi*s. 
Dunbar over her Easter offering. Mrs. Warden was 
really beautiful. Every gesture indicated she was at 
home amid elegant surroundings. Every word she 
uttered indicated refinement and culture. She stood 
by Mrs. Dunbar, receiving homage from men and 
women of wealth and position, and was as brilliant as 
she was beautiful. When music was called for, she 


A WINNING, WAYWARD WOMAN 


157 


asked Mrs. Dunbar to sing I shall be glorified.” She 
sang exquisitely, Mrs. 'Warden standing by the piano 
drinking in the scene as if paradise had opened to her 
on earth. For a moment after the singer ceased, all 
were silent. Mrs. Warden laid her hand caressingly 
on the fair head of Mrs: Dunbar, and said to the com- 
pany : This is my Easter angel ; I will never hear 
sweeter music until I enjoy Easter in heaven.” 

Happiness was too much for her to endure. She 
said good-bye to the guests, who wished her many 
returns of Easter on earth before she heard the song 
of redemption in Heaven. Mr. Douglass and Mrs. 
Dunbar accompanied her to her room, for she showed 
signs of exhaustion and needed rest. For a moment 
she held the hands of both in hers, as she said : Good 
night ; I am glad your destinies are one ; God bless 
you always.” 

They returned to their guests to hear golden 
opinions of their protege. How little they dreamed 
they were eulogizing one who had entered the Easter 
of eternity! 

The last written words told the story of her life : 
“ Any woman who truly loves, lives a life of penance.” 
The last words spoken were of love and destiny to a 
Douglass. 

The Lent of her life had closed. On that night of 
redemption the recording angel wrote : “ This is the 


158 


A WmmJVG, WAYWABI) WOMAJV. 


last of earth.” Heaven was the heritage of Amelie 
Warden ; she had loved, and she had suffered, but the 
atonement was made. Ho more heartaches, disap- 
pointments, mortifications or sorrow. Ho more sacri- 
fice, weary wanderings, cold, hunger or charity. Ho 
more hoping, loving or fearing ; the crown was won. 

“ Dr. Sewell, come quickly ! ” the maid called, in a 
terrified voice. He hurried upstairs, followed by the 
guests ; but death had preceded them. The seal was 
set.” 

On the sofa, in her Easter suit, with the fatal 
opal pressed to her heart, they found all that was 
mortal of Amelie Warden. The immortal soul was 
in the great Hereafter ! 

She was buried from the Church of Memories. Dr. 
H. said Peace, troubled soul” over Amelie Warden. 
Resignation was written on her face, for her heart 
rested. On her finger the signet of love glittered 
like a star of hope, and over her cold heart rested the 
medallion of destiny, on which was engraven : 

“ God is my Judge.” 


THE END. ^ 














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■1 



JUDGE’S NOVELS. 


The Latest and Best Works of Mctioii. 


No. I. “NAPOLEON SMITH.’’ 

(Fourth edition ) By W. J. Arkell and A. T. Worden. Price, 25 cents. 

“Napoleon Smith,” a novel by a well-known New-Yorker, is published by the Judg^e 
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conceived and is handled with skill. — Boston Globe. 

No. 2. STAR-CROSSED: The Life and Love of an Actress.” 

By An Actress. Price, 50 cents. 

A remarkably interesting story. Intensely original in style and full of startling inci- 
dent. The author is a well-known actress of the American stage, and has written the book 
in a charmingly refreshing, vigorous and entertaining manner. 

No. 3. LADY CAR: The Sequel of a Life.” 

By Mrs. Oliphant. Price, 25 cents. 

The latest story from the pen of this entertaining writer. The only authorized Ameri- 
can edition. 

No. 4. JACK OF HEARTS: A Story of Bohemia,” 

By H. T. Johnson. Price, 25 cents. 

A delightful romance of English life. 

No. 5. “A PHILOSOPHER IN LOVE AND IN UNIFORM.” 

By the Authors of “ Napoleon Smith." Illustrated. Price, 25 cents. 

Of all the weird, dramatic and intensely interesting novels of this era, none can sur- 
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By Anthony Gould, author of “ A Woman of Sorek.” Price, 50 cents. 

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All the above books are to be obtained oj" book-sellers and newsdealers, or will be sent 
postpaid on receipt 0/ price, by 

THE JUDGE PUBLISHING CO., 

^ Fifth Ave, and Kith St,^ Neiv Yorh. 



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